North Island Adventures

.....aka flying by the seat of our pants....

Jenn and I met up in Auckland, New Zealand, almost a week ago. We had plans stemming from the summer of 2006, when we first started to plan this adventure. We have 2 Lonely Planets, a Rough Guide, and a typed (yes, typed) itinerary of our travels in our possession. Yet, we are humbled at every turn, having to modify/delete/create our plans as we go along. Apparently, in all the planning that we did we forgot to learn how to control the weather.

Let me tell you about our North Island adventures so far.....

We were a bit disappointed with Auckland. It's small, quite industrial, and everything closes very early. So instead of hanging out in the hostel, we hit the road and drove to the west coast.

This is Waitakere Ranges, west of Auckland. It was a very windy drive to get there, but once we arrived, we had a picnic lunch all by ourselves in what seemed like the most remote place in the world. This is when it dawned on me that I was in New Zealand, about as far from home as I have ever been.

Still in the Waitakere Ranges, this is KareKare beach. We hiked to this spot where we found the blackest sand I've ever seen. The picture certainly doesn't show the darkness of the sand.....

Jenn climbing one of these magnificent trees in KareKare forest.

While we were exploring Waitakere, a local pulled over her car and told us to walk up the road, go around the bend, and take a 10 minute walk down the hill......that's where we found this hidden waterfall.

This was taken on the road as we made our way to Piha, also west of Auckland.

Piha beach - a favourite with local surfers

The next day, we started the drive to the northeast region of the north island, looking for the hot water beaches we had heard so much about. You get to dig a hole in the sand during low tide, and then enjoy a natural hot spring spa when the tide comes in. Unfortunately, the beach was closed. The currents have gotten so strong that someone drowned and it's just not safe to dig at this time. Grrrr! So this is when we went to Waitomo instead (check out my Black Water rafting entry from before).

This picture is dedicated to my friend KaHung, who commented in my last blog entry about how sexy Jenn and I look in our wet suits......how d'you like them apples?

Next in our plans was the Tongariro Crossing, arguably the world's most beautiful one day hike. This is the place that is described as "Mordor" in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy (just to give you an idea of how magnificent this place really is). We drove to Taupo, a nearby town, and upon checking into our hostel, we got the bad news: the Tongariro Crossing is closed until further notice due to weather conditions. We couldn't believe it. We stayed in Taupo for two days waiting for the mountain officials to let us through. No such luck.

This is a view of Tongariro National Park from the motorway. Note the clouds, snow, and apparently hail that prevented us from doing the hike.

Instead, we busied ourselves with side excursions. Take a look at the pictures below. They were taken at a place called Craters of the Moon, a geothermal area full of mud pools and steam vents. We took the 45-minute hike around the craters and were marvelled at the noise they made and the heat they gave off.

Two small craters...

One huge crater!!!! I'm the little yellow dot in the right upper corner......the weather was so crazy! We were in winter jacquets in a geothermal area!

So what do you do when the signs say: "Danger! Keep to path"?

You go to the Hot Springs Spa!!!!

A nice warm dip as the weather blew up outside...

One of the most rewarding parts of our trip thus far, has been the scenery during our drives. You can't really pull over very often to take pictures, but whenever it's safe to do so, we get out of the car and grab our cameras.

This is Waipunga Falls in the distance. Just one of the incredibly beautiful sights we've been enjoying on our drives.

Jenn trying to make some new friends.....

Another little detour: wineries!!!!!

Hawke's bay - this is the second biggest wine region in New Zealand.

Just a little tasting.....for you, Amber, of course!

Two 'happy' girls at a winery in Hawke's bay

Wish I could bring the whole thing home!

We are now in Wellington, patiently awaiting the moment when we embark on the ferry for the South island. Here's wishing the weather gods will be on our side!!!!