After spending nearly everyday in Kerikeri working in the kiwi orchards and putting ourselves on a tight budget (lots of PBJ sandwiches) we each had an ample amount of kiwi money saved to travel the North Island on our way to the South Island at last.
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| Ngawha Hot Springs near Kerikeri. Each pool has different natural minerals and different temperature. Each one is said to have its own unique medicinal use. Maori Warriors soaked here after battles. |
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| Irish whisky creme truffles from the chocolate factory in Kerikeri. Mmmm |
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| Matauri Bay. North of Kerikeri where the Rainbow Warrior (a Greenpeace ship sunk by French spies) now resides underwater for divers. |
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| On top of St. Paul's Rock. |
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| Ferry ride friends |
Our first destination was Urapukapuka Island- a camping paradise forty minutes by boat from the docks of Paihia in the Bay of Islands. It’s the biggest island in the area and has 4 DOC campsites, all located on beaches. There are no roads or vehicle access on Urapukapuka but many hiking trails and clear, calm bays ideal for snorkeling and kayaking. Since the weather was getting colder we were only up for a quick swim after a long hike around the perimeter of the island. We had an amazing sunset and were one of only two or three other tents scattered around the island, so it felt like we pretty much had the whole place to ourselves.
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| Very playful little creatures |
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| Our campsight on Urapukapuka Island |
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| Urapukapuka Island |
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| Tane Mahuta - the largest Kauri in the world! |
From there we travelled to the west coast of the Northland where the mighty Kauri trees rule the forest. There are a variety of short hikes which provide viewing access to some of the largest Kauris in New Zealand. Kauris have massive, branchless trunks which shoot straight up to sprawling canopies providing habitat for birds and vegetation high above the ground. The dense, knotless wood is prime for building lumber (especially ship masts) and led to extensive logging upon the arrival of Europeans. As a result only a few Kauri forests remain. We had the honor of viewing the mighty Tane Mahuta, the tallest Kauri at 51 meters with a 13 meter diameter and possibly 2,000 years old.
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| Up close and personal with the 7th largest Kauri tree! |
After a long road trip from the forests of the Northland through city lights of Auckland we arrived at our home away from home in Tauranga- we spent nearly 3 months in this lively beach town at the beginning of our NZ adventure. I wanted to surf at least once more before heading to the colder South Island and we were both eager to revisit a place with which we felt a strong connection. I got my afternoon of surfing in, Theresa enjoyed a relaxing day on the beach, and we met up with some friends from the Northland for a few drinks in one of the pubs we used to frequent.
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| Andy Surfing |
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| Devil's Bath - apparently both the Devil and the Queen like yellow. |
The next day we reluctantly left our beloved Tauranga and headed south towards Rotarua- a geothermal hotspot and place of cultural significance for the Maori. Rotarua, while beautiful and interesting, has tourist trap written all over it with countless billboards and brochures offering expensive geothermal, cultural, and adventure packages. After much sifting through info, we chose to roll down a hillside suspended in a plastic ball, within another plastic ball, sloshing around in water- yes, the Zorb Experience! Though it was a short ride, it was quite fun- kind of similar to a water slide. The most hilarious part of this experience occurred when I exited the Zorb through a small hole, wide-eyed, soaked and awkwardly landing on my bum looking like a grown man being born into this world from an extraterrestrial egg. To top it all off, Theresa stood laughing hysterically while a company photographer snapped photos of me being born again!
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| Champagne Pool |
That night we found a campsite on a quiet, little lake not far from town. While driving into the campsite, we spotted what at first looked like a large rodent. As we drove closer we saw it hopping away and realized that it was a Wallaby… in New Zealand!! Not quite believing our eyes and thinking that we had made an important discovery, we planned to inform people at the I-site that there were Wallabies in the area. A couple days later we were informed that, yes, there are many Wallabies in the area and that, no, we had not made an important discovery. But still we were excited at having seen one … before even going to Australia!
The next day we hiked through a geothermal park filled with bubbling, colorful water and steam rising from holes in the ground everywhere. We also got to see a geyser shoot off and the most amazing sight of all- a pond of bubbling mud! Later we went for a short hike along Kerosene Creek to soak in a pool of hot water beneath a small waterfall. And the amazing thing about this creek is that not just the pools are hot, all of the water running through the creek is as well. It was also pretty much the only thing that we found near Rotarua that didn’t cost any money!
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| Kerosene Creek |
Though we were ultimately heading south, Theresa convinced me that we should drive north from Rotarua to the small town of Matamata- which is better known as the home of Hobbiton from Lord of the Rings. So we booked a tour and hopped on a bus which took us to a remote sheep farm where The Shire is located. It turns out we had lucky timing for this visit since the sight had recently been prepped for the filming of The Hobbit. Hobbiton did not disappoint, with various pathways winding through green rolling hills leading from one hobbit-hole to the next. Basically it looked exactly like it does in the movies. Theresa was glowing the entire time. We got so caught up in the hype that we purchased two bottles of SobeRing Thought- a dark, chocolatey, 1.0% alcohol beer that director Peter Jackson had brewed special for the movie so actors would not get too drunk while filming the pub scenes! Unfortunately, we cannot post any of the 200 photos Theresa took due to the confidentiality forms we signed involving the filming of the new movie.
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| Plotting |
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| Evil Plan |
From there we headed southwest towards the Waitomo Caves. There are a variety of underground tours offered in this area- we chose the Tumu-Tumu Tubing adventure. This involved climbing down a ladder through a crack in the earth into the dark, frigid waters of a cave. Sounds inviting, eh? Even with thick wet suits, helmets, and gum boots it was quite cold and uncomfortable as we went from walking in ankle deep water, to wading waste deep, eventually to swimming in the black water. However, the excitement and beauty of the cave formations were well worth the discomfort. One of the highlights came as we floated in tubes in complete darkness gazing up at the “glow worms” hanging from the ceiling of the cave. Glow Worms are actually fly larvae (otherwise know as maggots- apparently it is believed that more people will be drawn to “Glow Worm” tours than “Maggot” tours). They glow in order to attract other insects into their sticky strings hanging below them. We spent about three hours underground before emerging into the light of day again chilled, exhausted and ready for hot showers.
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| Theresa's Jump |
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| The Plunge!! |
The Tongariro Crossing found us hiking along the base of Mt. Ngauruhoe (Mt. Doom from Lord of the Rings) on a clear, blue-sky day. It was a long and spectacular hike, the highlights of which were looking down on the Emerald Lakes and the Red Crater from the highest point of the hike as well as enjoying the good company of our hiking mates -Flo from France and Amanda from Canada.
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| Andy was my green |
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| Molly Malone's in Welly |
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| This hat was a gift - I'm actually Irish everyday! |
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| Wellington |
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| Wellington |
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| The old trolly |
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| Our Boat (and the dust that the stupid camera store clerk blew into my sensor! Argh!) |
That was nearly six weeks ago. We’ve since settled in Blenheim, picked many grapes, tasted a lot of wine and tried to stay warm as we move into the heart of autumn and edge towards winter here in the Southern Hemisphere. The vineyard work has been slow as of late and in the backpacking world, when there is no work you might as well travel. So the next week or two we will travel the South island and plan to return to Blenheim for the winter pruning season for a couple months.
