New Zealand - North Island beaches and volcanoes

Day 95 - 9th March

This morning the weather was beautiful and we decided to have breakfast by the beach so we drove up to a car park overlooking the cliffs and had a tasty bowl of porridge while watching the morning surfers. Today's mission was to get to the Coromandel Peninsula and we drove for most of the day, stopping regularly to admire the incredible views. We stopped off for a paddle at a beautiful wide bay at Orere Point, with views out to Waiheke Island in the Hauraki Gulf, east of Auckland, and stopped for lunch at a sunny bay just north of Thames, on the south of the Coromandel. Tonight we camped at a DOC site in Kauaeranga National Reserve, a forested park just east of Thames. Our campsite was right by a river and Jon went for a refreshing evening dip in his pants! We also took a short walk to a replica of a Kauri logging dam with some interesting panels about the Kauri logging trade. The campsite was very basic and almost deserted, which suited us just fine, and, best of all, it was free!

Paddling at Orere Point

Jon enjoying a swim

River at our campsite

Thames

Day 96 - 10th March

We woke to beautiful sunshine and decided to have breakfast at a nearby beach, but, as we're discovering, NZ weather is very changeable and by the time we got there it was cloudy and windy. Still, the view was lovely looking out over the sea to the Auckland coast. We drove north up the peninsula to Coromandel Town, which was very small but set near a pretty wharf. We found a café with wifi and spent an hour or so catching up on admin and drinking cappuccinos. After that we drove across to the Pacific coast of the peninsula to the even smaller town of Whitianga. The roads were once again spectacular and we got some great views along the way. We didn't stop at Whitianga but drove instead to nearby Hahei and the famous Hot Water Beach. What better activity on a slightly grey afternoon than renting a spade and digging a hole in a beach to create your own personal thermal pool. The tide was just starting to come in when we got to the beach and there were loads of people there already, all sitting crammed together in steaming holes, it looked like a cross between a beach party and a bird colony! We found a good spot and dug a decent sized hole and had a little time to wallow in the amazingly hot water before the tide started encroaching. Cue a mad rush all around to build protective walls and sure-up the holes in a vain attempt to protect the precious hot water from being covered by the waves. Eventually nature won, all the holes were washed away and we gave up and went to play in the waves. The currents are really strong here so swimming isn't allowed but the waves were big and strong and it was great fun jumping about in them.

Once we'd dried off we drove into Hahei and stopped for the night at a campsite in the village. We wandered down to the beach, which was really beautiful, in a secluded cove with lots of small rocky islands just off shore. We watched the sun go down with a beer, by which time the weather had improved, the sky was clear and the evening was lovely and warm.

Hot Water Beach

Hot Water Beach

Hahei Beach

Day 97 - 11th March

The weather forecast we'd found yesterday was unfortunately accurate and we woke up to a grey day, although the morning was still dry. We're discovering in NZ that, although the weather may be cloudy, in the North Island the temperatures are still warm enough that you can comfortably spend a grey day in shorts and a t-shirt anyway. We had breakfast in a car park overlooking Hahei beach before setting off on a walk to nearby Cathedral Cove. It was a lovely hour-long walk through the bush and past scenic coves with views out to the many islands off the coast. Cathedral Cove is only accessible at low tide and the DOC advise against walking through the arch that joins it to the next door cove, Mare's Leg Bay, as there is a high risk of rock falls. No-one seemed to pay that any attention and we happily walked through the cave to the near-deserted cove beyond. Cathedral Cove and Mare's Leg Bay are both picturesque little coves with steep cliffs at either end, joined by caves and arches, with stacks and other interesting rock formations just off shore – really rather beautiful. Even though the sky was still grey, the temperature was warm enough for us to go for a refreshing swim in the sea. The tide was going out and the waves were quite big and lots of fun to play in, although the shallows were full of fish eggs. Luckily there was a fresh-water waterfall on the beach where we could shower afterwards and wash the fish eggs out of our hair!

Cathedral Cove

Cathedral Cove

Headland from Hahei

Once we got back to the van we had lunch and then the rain started – excellent timing! We decided to abandon our plans to drive to more beach towns as visibility had dropped to almost zero and spent some time drinking tea in our nice dry, spacious van. In the evening we drove to the town of Wanamata and had delicious fish and chips before heading for our DOC campsite in the countryside just south of town. We were very grateful we had Wendy and didn't have to go through the soggy faff of setting up a tent in the rain! Here's hoping tomorrow's weather forecast is equally accurate and the sun returns.

Day 98 - 12th March

The rain fell heavily all night and didn't stop until early morning, but we stayed nice and dry in our trusty van. Although dry, the day was still cloudy and we figured it wasn't the best weather for sitting on a beach or going for any more walks and decided to leave the Coromandel and make our way to Rotorua. On the way we stopped at Waihi Beach and the small town of Bowentown, where we had planned to do a short walk to see a pretty harbour and the remains of a Pa (a Maori fortified settlement) but as we pulled up into the car park the heavens opened again. We had a cup of tea and some cake and waited to see if it would clear... it didn't so we drove on to the Bay of Plenty. We stopped at Mount Maunganui, one of the country's best surf resorts, but the weather still wasn't favourable for surfing. Instead we whiled away a happy few hours in the town's open air hot salt water pools, which were really quite hot and lovely to be in on a slightly grey day. We drove along the beach front for a bit, where a few brave souls were trying their best to catch some surf, but the waves weren't that tempting, even for Jon. Hopefully we'll get back here if the weather picks up a bit in the next few days.

We drove on to Rotorua, at the centre of New Zealand's geothermal core, famous for hot pools, geysers and adventure sports. As soon as we arrived the heavens opened and we drove through a heavy downpour before reaching our DOC campsite on the shores of Lake Okareka, about 15 minutes out of town. The campsite is right on the lake, in a beautiful setting surrounded by hills and forests and the weather is even brightening up a bit – hopefully tomorrow will be a bit better.

Jon and Wendy at Lake Okareka

Day 99 - 13th March

Today the long-awaited good weather arrived! It was a beautiful morning at the lake and we took our time getting up. After breakfast we drove into town to explore Rotorua a little. First stop was the tourist information office where we booked ourselves a white water rafting trip for tomorrow. We were planning on heading to one of the geothermal parks near the town and our rafting trip came with free entry to Hell's Gate, just outside Rotorua. We also looked at information about the numerous Maori village experiences around and decided that they all looked way to tacky and touristy to bother with. We went for a wander around the town, through the pretty Government Gardens, with their Victorian Blue Bath public bathing house and the somewhat bizarre-looking Rotorua Museum, which is housed in a huge Victorian part-gothic-mansion-part-mock-Tudor building. We walked through the gardens to the lake shore, where I had my obligatory paddle, and then followed the pretty lake-side path up to the main quay, where all the jet-boating and leisure companies sell their wares.

Lake Rotorua

Leaving the lake behind, we walked into Kuirau Park, a free geothermal park in the middle of town, where the bubbling sulphur and mud pools are dotted around, fenced off from the local sun-bathers and families playing ball games – pretty cool to have as your town's common.

After a spot of lunch we decided to use our free entry to Hell's Gate. The park promises to be “the beast of all thermal parks” and the most active in the area, but a couple of tourists who were leaving as we arrived advised us to get our money back, and we soon found out why! The “beast” turned out to be a series of pretty shallow, pretty inactive slightly bubbling pools, some sending out little puffs of steam here and there, some not seeming to do much at all! Thank God we didn't pay the $35 entry fee, let alone shell out for the mud spa, which turned out to be a hot swimming pool in a shed-like building near the entrance. It was so rubbish it was really quite amusing to walk around, and quite an entertaining way to while away an hour or so.

After that it was back to our lakeside campsite for a tasty stir-fry (first in over 3 months) and a glass of wine.

Hell's Gate

Hell's Gate

Hell's Gate

Day 100 - 14th March

Another glorious day here in Rotorua. We had another leisurely morning by the lake before heading up to Okere Falls just north of town for my first ever experience of white water rafting. We chose to raft the Kaituna river, a short section of river with 14 rapids including 3 waterfalls, one of which, at 7m high, is the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world! Hooray!

The trip was fantastic, we had a small group (just 4 of us) and a great Japanese guide. It's safe to say I'm now a white water convert, and the waterfall was brilliant fun. We had planned to spend the afternoon warming up in the Polynesian Spa in town, apparently rated as one of the world's top 10 spas, but the weather was so glorious we decided to head back to the campsite instead and spend some time relaxing by the lake. We both had a lovely, if rather refreshing, swim in the incredibly clear water and then did some much-needed laundry. We finished the day reading our books in the evening sun with a beer – perfect.

Day 101 - 15th March

Sadly the good weather abandoned us again and today was overcast and drizzly. We had planned to do some kayaking on a nearby lake but decided that it really wasn't the weather for it. Instead we treated ourselves to the Polynesian Spa (not really a treat as it was half the price of kayaking!) The spa complex was fabulous, with 7 outdoor naturally heated thermal pools, some with alkaline water, which left your skin feeling silky smooth, and some from a radium-enriched spring, supposedly able to cure all kinds of ailments. Some of the pools had views out onto Lake Rotorua and we spent a happy few hours gently soaking away.

After lunch we drove south to Lake Taupo, the largest lake in New Zealand, stopping at the nearby Huka Falls, which were very impressive.  Taupo town itself turned out not to have much to offer but a walk along the lake shore was very nice, and by the time we got there the sun was shining again. We treated ourselves to a campsite with power and recharged everything electrical, then spent a lovely evening enjoying some rather nice NZ wine.

Huka Falls

Huka Falls

Lake Taupo

Day 102 - 16th March

Today we set out to make up for the rubbishness of Hell's Gate and rediscover our love of thermal parks with a visit to the Hidden Valley or Orakei Korako, just north of Taupo. The reserve is on a lake island and is reached by boat, albeit a very short journey. This time the park didn't disappoint. It takes about an hour and half to explore the park area, which is very active and covered with bubbling spitting geysers, which send an amazing 20 million litres of water per day trickling over incredibly colourful silica terraces down into Lake Orakei. The pools are covered in brightly coloured algae, which form beautiful shapes and patterns. There is also a deep cave with a turquoise pool at the bottom, apparently one of only two caves in the world found in geothermal areas. At the entrance to the park is the amusingly named Diamond Geyser, so called because when it erupts, the falling water droplets sparkle like diamonds. Sadly its eruptions are unpredictable and it didn't go when we were there.

After leaving the park, feeling very impressed with the beauty of New Zealand's geothermal landscapes, we drove south to Tongariro National Park, home to three of the country's highest volcanoes and the Tongariro Crossing walk, which we will be attempting tomorrow. Time for an early night and a hearty dinner to prepare...

Algae, Orakei Korako

Orakei Korako

Orakei Korako

Silica terraces, Orakei Korako

Day 103 - 17th March

We got up early to catch our shuttle bus to the start point of the Tongariro Crossing. Tongariro National Park is New Zealand's oldest national park and sits at around 1000m above sea level (nothing compared to Bolivia but high by NZ standards) so last night was quite chilly and this morning was crisp and cool. The weather was perfect, clear skies and the sun was rising happily over Mount Tongariro as we set off. The Tongariro Crossing is a 19.4km walk that takes you up and over the volcanoes of Mount Tongariro and Mount Ngauruhoe (Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings films!) and is generally reckoned to be the best one-day walk in New Zealand. The walk started easily, meandering up through a scrubby valley below the mountains before we climbed in short, manageable sections up to the saddle between the two volcanoes. The views were beautiful, both of the mountains and the park below, and it was quite exciting for us LotR fans to be walking below the real live Mount Doom. The final section of ascent before we reached the central crater of Mount Tongariro was quite steep and slippery but I made it up with only a few short rests and the rewards were fantastic. We stopped for some lunch at the highest point, the spectacular red crater, which was really quite red with beautiful rock formations. After that we descended towards the central crater, past three magnificent emerald lakes that were rich turquoise in colour due to the mineral deposits. We crossed through the final crater of Mount Tongariro and began our long descent down the other side to the end point, which took a very long time. It's possible to start the walk from this side, and some people do to avoid the crowds, but the amount of climbing at the beginning would be much greater. The views from this side of the crossing down into the park below were even more spectacular than at the start. We could see for miles, across forests to lakes, including Lake Taupo, and mountains in the distance. We finished the walk after 7 hours and caught our shuttle bus back to where Wendy was waiting for us, feeling a little tired in the legs but thoroughly happy after a fantastic walk. We spent the night back at the same campsite and had a nice few drinks with our neighbours, Dawn and Dave, a couple of friendly middle-aged campervan clubbers.

The start of the walk

Mounts Tongariro and Ngauruhoe

Look!  It's Mount Doom!

We made it to the top!

Red Crater

Emerald Lakes

Day 104 - 18th March

After consulting our maps and itinerary we have sadly discovered that time is running away from us and we don't have enough time to do all we wanted to. So we have decided to miss out Hawkes Bay, where we were hoping to drink some tasty wine, and push onto Wellington so we can make the most of the South Island. We spent most of today driving from Tongariro to Wellington, although the roads were good and we made reasonable time. We stopped for lunch at a pretty beach near Palmeston North, where we took Wendy onto the sand and ate our sandwiches on the beach, watching the waves roll in. We reached Wellington at around 4:00 and spent some time wandering around the city. It is set in a lovely harbour and has a nice docks area, where we tried to follow the writer's walk, a route around the dock area with poems displayed along the way, but we only managed to find 3 and couldn't find any information about the route at all! Wellington seems like a lovely city by NZ standards, but like all towns and cities here, it is very small and we couldn't find that much that we really wanted to see or do, having decided that we didn't have enough time to do the Te Papa museum justice, so we headed on to our campsite around the peninsula in a pretty forest park. The site was well set up, with the incredible luxury of hot showers and situated in a river valley surrounded on either side with tall pine trees. It was another cloudless night and gave us one of the best starry skies we've seen on our trip.

Wellington