From the big city to the lands of steam and boiling mud

Wellington, Lake Taupo and Rotorua, NZ
February 5-11

Rotorua- Just one of the amazing geothermal hotbeds we visited in New Zealand

On the morning of February 5th we boarded the Interislander Ferry from Picton on the South Island to Wellington on the North Island. The ferry ride was very nice, a little rough, but nothing serious. Personally, I was excited for the time to just sit and write. We've both loved the freedom of having a car, but those long train rides in Europe were the perfect time to work on the blog. It's quite difficult to type in a car while going around switchbacks and S curves along ocean cliffs! So I found myself a little spot up near the front of the boat and typed away, while Shaun found himself a comfy lounger and took a nap.

My first glimpse of Wellington from the Interislander Ferry

When we arrived in Wellington we picked up our car from Avis. It was a good car, a small red Toyota Corolla hatchback, but we realized immediately that our stuff was not going to fit in the trunk. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but we've been making tons of little stops along the way as we travel, for hikes or attractions or just to check out a town, and we had been warned many times not to have any bags visible when you leave your car. We thought about going back in to the desk, but we could see they didn't have any other cars on the little ferry terminal lot so we decided to try to make due.

Our big treat in Wellington was getting to stay with Shaun's friend Simon and his family. Shaun and Simon used to train for the Boston marathon together and Simon, a professor at Victoria University in Wellington, had moved to New Zealand a few years prior. We drove up too their house in Kandallah, a beautiful suburb up in the hills over Wellington. Upon arrival, I met Simon and his wife Maree for the first time and then we both met their little boys Tait and Quentin. Simon and Maree were so great to us in our two nights in Wellington. They cooked us lovely dinners and Simon and Quentin took Shaun and I into the city for some sightseeing.

The view from the roads in Kandallah, overlooking Wellington Harbor

On our sightseeing day, we took a cool train ride from Kandallah into Wellington through the Ngaio Gorge. Then we took a cable car up to a scenic overlook where we stopped in at the Cable Car museum. At the museum, 3 year old Quentin gave us a personal tour of his favorite spots. Then we were off to check out the waterfront and have some coffees while Quentin played on the playground. It was a lovely day! Unfortunately I forgot my camera that day so I don't have many pictures of our stay in Wellington!

One highlight (or maybe it turned out to be a lowlight) for Shaun was having the chance to watch the superbowl. Even though Simon and Maree are Australian, they lived in the US for a long time, so Simon was interested in watching the game as well. On our way back in from the city we picked up some chips and beer and spent the afternoon of Monday the 6th watching the Superbowl! Personally,I loved the fact that we got to watch the game but didn't have to listen too the inevitable belly-aching that I'm sure went on for days after the Pats loss to the Giants!

The highlight for me was hanging out with Quentin and Tait. They are three and five respectively and just the cutest kids. They were both into trains (as all my nephews were at that age) so I was involved in many imaginary train rides with the boys. I loved the way they said my name with their cute little Australian/New Zealand accents as they gave me my instructions! "Eileen are you on the train? Do you have your tickets? Would you like to have afternoon tea? You'd better use the toilets because these are the last toilets before Shanghai!!" It was such a fun visit and I think I will always remember Quentin and Tait when I think back on Wellington, NZ.

On our last morning in Wellington, we decided to go check out Te Papa, New Zealand's national museum. There were lots of interesting displays at Te Papa (a giant squid, Maori art) but my favorite was the earthquake display. New Zealand lies between two colliding tectonic plates, the Indo-Australian Plate and the Pacific Plate. The constant pressure of the two colliding plates make it one of the most seismically active countries in the world. The display did a great job explaining all aspects of not just earthquakes, but also the special geothermal properties that make New Zealand so unique. Te Papa's displays actually ended up being very timely for us as we were heading to some crazy geothermal areas in the coming days. (Luckily, we never did experience an Earthquake in NZ!)

Before leaving Wellington, the last thing we did was call Avis. When we explained the trunk situation they told us to stop by the downtown office, which was right near Te Papa. Upon arrival they upgraded us to a new car, a 4 door sedan that was much nicer and larger than our original Corolla. And of course, they did it for no charge. We were pretty pleased with that! So we swapped all of our stuff into our new huge trunk and hit the road.

Our first stop after Wellington was a place called Lake Taupo, which is the largest lake in New Zealand. To get there from Wellington you drive for around three and a half hours and along the way you take the desert road, which was a gorgeous stretch of desert with three volcanoes in your sights. The biggest of the three volcanoes was Mount Ngauruhoe, which is now most famous as having starred in the Lord of the Rings movies as Mount Doom.

Driving through the desert with Mount Doom in the distance. You can hear the Orcs coming!

When we arrived in Lake Taupo, we made our way up to check out the Top 10 Holiday park. It was a beautiful park with cabins overlooking the hills and it was perfect for us because of it's proximity to the things we wanted to do in Taupo. We booked a little cabin for three nights and settled in to make some dinner. We're getting pretty good these days at stretching our food budget. That night we made steak with jasmine rice, portabello mushrooms, broccoli and grilled peaches. Two nights later we were able to turn the leftovers into a beef and mushroom fried rice which was delicious!

The first dinner of steak with rice, mushrooms, broccoli and grilled peaches

And the second dinner of beef fried rice, made from the leftovers

The first day at Taupo we did the Huka falls hike, which we were able to start directly from the Holiday park. I was feeling a little off, like I might be getting a cold, but we both wanted to do the hike so off we went. The walkway to Huka follows the right bank of the Waikato, New Zealand's longest river for 2.8k. The trails were well marked and had some hills but nothing too strenuous. When we arrived at Huka Falls we were really impressed. It was totally different than any falls we had seen before. Basically, the huge Waikato river comes to a place where there is only a narrow rocky channel and all that water pushes through the channel, creating incredible force as it rushes out and back into the big river. It was really beautiful and well worth the hike.

Along the beautiful hike out to the falls. The Waikato river splits briefly before the falls

So much water going through so little space

The river widens again after the chute

Unfortunately for me, as we made our way back I started to feel worse. We only hiked for about three hours but I felt like it had been 10. When we got back to Spa Park, where we started the trek, Shaun wanted to go for a swim in the natural hot spring in the park. I took a few pictures as he was getting in, but then had to head back to the cabin. I was definitely getting sick.

Shaun hanging out in the hot spring. You had to be careful because some parts were actually boiling

I did end up getting a bad cold, but I can't really complain. This was really only the third time I've been sick since we started traveling and each time it was just a head cold. When you consider how many trains, planes, buses, hotels, motels, cabins and hostels we've used in the last 7 months that's a pretty good track record. My only regret is that we both really wanted to do a full day hike called the Tongariro Alpine Crossing while we were in Taupo. It was going to be our longest hike of the trip and I really wanted to test myself by hiking it. Shaun was disappointed as well, but we both found ways to rebound from the change of plans.

For Shaun, it was fly fishing. He's been talking about trying fly fishing for years and the Taupo area is famous for it. He found a guide, a guy who goes by the name Fishy Steve, to show him the ropes. Fishy Steve is actually a guy named Steve Sprague who is originally from Colorado, but who has been running fly fishing tours in the Taupo area for years. He and Shaun drove out to a stream just outside town where Shaun learned the ropes of fly fishing. Shaun had a fabulous day and caught a big old trout, but unfortunately it had just spawned so we couldn't eat it.

Shaun and the trout he caught

As for me, I had a lovely day of rest and relaxation, along with a bit of pampering. Before we left for New Zealand I had gotten my hair cut, but once we started all the hiking and camping and such, I decided it needed to be much shorter. So while Shaun was out in the wilderness, I went into Taupo and cut my hair. When I got back to the Holiday park, I put on my bathing suit, grabbed my book and my sunscreen and lounged about by the pool for the afternoon. It was a real treat to just lay around for the day. We've been having such a blast, I didn't even realize how little down time we've had. So by the time Shaun got back that evening, I still had my cold, but I was feeling heaps better after my day of relaxation.

Feeling better with my new haircut

Our last day in Taupo we went to visit the Craters of the Moon. Craters of the Moon is an amazing Geothermal park with a really interesting history. It was a relatively inactive area in the 1950's with just hints of thermal activity, like a mudpool and a few small steam vents. All that changed in 1958 when a Geothermal Power Station was built in an area nearby. Something about the water they were pulling from the nearby pools increased the pressure at the Craters and the level of thermal activity increased dramatically. The boardwalk hike takes about a 45 minute loop all around the steaming vents and bubbling mud. Whatever the science behind it, it was very cool.

The crazy steam vents at Craters of the Moon just outside Taupo

The next day we headed out of Taupo on the way to Rotorua, which was another hotbed of geothermal activity. We decided to stay outside the city, especially since the mud pools and thermal wells in Rotorua are famous for their sulfur smell. (Of course, if you like the smell of rotten eggs, by all means, stay in Rotorua.) We checked in at another Top 10 park, this one just outside Rotorua in a town called Blue Lake, named for the little lake across the street. We only had a few minutes to drop off our stuff because we had hiking and biking to do! We immediately drove back to Rotorua and stopped at the Outdoorsman across from the Redwoods forest park, so Shaun could rent a mountain bike. From there it was just a quick mile down a wooded road to the Redwoods park.

Redwoods park was a perfect stop for the two of us. It is named for the Redwood forest that was planted there in the early 1900's. They had one section of trails that were purpose built for mountain biking and another set just for hiking. I chose a 5k circuit trail called the Quarry Track that went through the Redwoods, up above the treeline, down through palm trees and back to the welcome center. The walk was great, but I still had some time before Shaun and I were supposed to meet back up, so I ended up doing the little 2k Redwood Memorial track as well. It was a good thing I did the extra walk. I didn't know it at the time, but Shaun's 90 minute mountain bike ride was about to turn into a two and a half hour adventure!

Scenes from along the Quarry Track hike

When we picked up the bike, it was around 3:15 and the store was closing at 5:30, so they requested the bike rental be returned by 5. Shaun had the phone with him so he could keep track of the time, so we agreed to just meet back at the store shortly before 5PM. By 5:30, he hadn't shown up yet and I was starting to get concerned. The staff at the store were great, they just told me to knock on the door when he got back. By 5:45 I was really starting to get panicky. After all, he had a phone with him so why had he not at least called the store? Finally a few minutes later a very tired and sweaty Shaun came barreling down the street. As it turned out, he had taken the advice of some locals about how long certain trails were and ended up way farther out than he had intended. And unfortunately, somewhere along the trails he had stopped to eat an energy bar and forgotten to zip his pocket back up. Bye, bye cellphone. He looked so exhausted I didn't even have the heart to be mad.

The next morning we headed back into Rotorua. Rotorua is famous for its geothermal wells, but it also known as a sacred place for the Maori people. There are a number of Maori cultural centers in the town that you can visit to learn more about the Maori's arrival in New Zealand and their customs and people. Other than at Te Papa in Wellington, we had seen very little about Maori culture so we decided to spend the morning at Te Puia. Te Puia was interesting and fun. The place itself is right in the middle of a geothermal reserve and it is the site of mud pools, steam vents and even a geyser. Your ticket gets you a tour of these natural wonders, a wood carving and weaving exhibition, plus a traditional Maori performance. It was a fun way to spend the morning.

At the site of the geyser in Te Puia

A Maori Greeting in front of the main ceremonial house

Some of the beautiful wood carvings

One of the performances inside the prayer house

Upon leaving Rotorua, we continued heading northeast. Our goal was to go camping on the Coromandel Peninsula, but it was too far to drive in an afternoon. We stopped instead at a little place called Papamoa Beach, at a beautiful Top 10 park. This one was right alongside the beach and what a nice beach it was. We were a little sad that we had arrived so late because we really didn't have much time to enjoy it. We made a little dinner and then took a quick walk across the street to a little pub where we played some pool and mapped out our plans for the next day. We were down to our last 5 days in New Zealand and we were determined to make the most of them. Off we went to the Coromandel Peninsula.

Beautiful Papamoa beach at Sunset

Last days on the South Island

Nelson, Kaikora & Picton, NZ
February 1-5

Just one of the beautiful flowers in the park across from our hostel in Nelson

We left Kaiteriteri on the afternoon of February 1st, with Nelson as our destination. Nelson is a good sized city so camping was out and hostels were in. Hostels here are a great way to travel, even if you are "40-something". Besides the usual dorms, most also have double rooms for couples like Shaun and me. And they always have big communal kitchens with fridges and cooking supplies like pots and pans that make it easy to self cater. Since we started the trip, we have been traveling with a cooler full of food so this type of lodging works really well. And sometimes you find a real gem among the hostels. Accents on the Park was just that!

We chose Accents on the Park based on a recommendation in Lonely Planet and man, did they have it spot on! The location was right downtown, bordering a park, and the rooms were spotless. But it went beyond that. The whole place had character, like the little bar/cafe they had installed downstairs. They served vegetarian food (filling a void in the city) and local beer and had cool music and great old tables and woodwork that they had reclaimed from an old farmhouse that was being torn down. If that wasn't enough, the owners were wonderful, willing to give all sorts of advice and help to Nelson Newbies. We had only booked one night but we immediately asked if they had a room available for the next night. As luck would have it, they had a cancellation so we reserved the second night.

The Church of the Hills in Nelson

More of the flowers in the park

Our time in the city of Nelson was good, but we didn't get to do a lot. Because of the lack of wi-fi, we had gotten behind on a lot of things we were supposed to do, so we spent much of our first afternoon trying to play catch up. The city itself was really cute, with a great downtown full of coffee shops, bars and restaurants. Looking out above the city was a church with beautiful gardens all around filled with local flora. We ate a little dinner at a Thai place in town and did some walking around the park (which was next to our Hostel) before heading back to Accents on the Park. We decided we couldn't stay here without having a drink in the bar downstairs, so we enjoyed a couple of local beers before heading upstairs to bed.

The main drag in downtown Nelson

Shaun downstairs at the Hostel enjoying a beer

The next day we got winery suggestions from the owners of the hostel and headed out to see what the area had to offer. We went to two vineyards that day, Neudorf and Waimea, both on the outskirts of Nelson. Neudorf was beautiful. They had a lovely spot out back where you could sit and relax in the sun after your tasting. It would have been a nice spot for a picnic if we had thought ahead. Waimea wasn't quite as nice aesthetically, but the guy doing the tasting was great. He gave us all sorts of tips for our visit to the North Island. As with everything in life, the people you meet make all the difference and we ended up really enjoying the visit to Waimea.

On the grounds of Neudorf Vineyards

We took our wine back to Nelson and stopped at a butcher to buy some dinner supplies. We got some lamb and lots of veggies and cooked out on the grill downstairs and then enjoyed our fabulous meal in the communal kitchen. I must say, I do sometimes feel bad when we cook at the hostels. Even though we are on a budget, we have done some nice dinners and it often feels a little like drinking Champagne at McDonalds. Lots of the younger people are doing the "rice for a week" thing so it feels out of place when we have something like lamb chops. Of course, not everyone does plain white rice. We've seen plenty of gourmets at the hostels, making fabulous meals right alongside us, so I don't feel that bad!

The next day we made the drive down the coast to Kaikora, a former fishing town that now is famous for whale watching, seals and beautiful hikes. The drive was gorgeous and along the way we stopped at a little spot called Ohau, where a seal colony lives and breeds. We were hoping to see some seal pups up the river at the waterfall (a famous spot for seeing pups) but it looked like the river was too low for them to get up there. Regardless, there was a beautiful waterfall at the end of the walk, so it was worth it the short hike. After the walk to the waterfall, we crossed the street to the ocean side and marveled at the huge seal colony on the rocks by the beach. It was incredible how close we were to these hundreds of seals. And best of all, there were dozens of little seal pups scooting around, calling out for their mums and playing. We took tons of pictures and even a few videos. We were careful not to get between the mothers and pups or between the seals and the ocean, because both will get you bitten, but we were within about 10 feet of the colony. It was amazing.

Look closely! There are forty-plus seals in this picture but they blend in very well!

Sometimes it feels like they are posing for photos!

Awww...Seal Love

Our other stop on the way was a roadside stand called Nin's Bins. They sell Crayfish, the New Zealand equivalent of the Lobster, and Nin's is the most famous Cray stand in the area. Of course, once she showed us the prices, we decided to take a pass! A single crayfish was between 48 and 54 dollars and that was served cold! Coming from New England, where we can get Maine Lobsters for as little as 5 dollars a pound in summertime we just could not bring ourselves to pay those prices.

Upon arrival, the task for the afternoon was finding lodging. We didn't like the looks of the Top 10 Holiday park down there so we decided to use a Lonely Planet suggestion instead. The Sunrise Lodge was nothing fancy, but they had a cute little studio apartment that was inexpensive and clean. We dropped our bags, changed into hiking gear and headed down toward the water.

The Kaikora Peninsula walkway is a beautiful cliffside walk with farmland on one side and the ocean on the other. The walk starts at a place called Kean Point, where there is yet another seal colony. This one was hilarious. The seals were not only lounging on the rocks, they were beside the road in the grass as well! By this point we had seen so many seals the novelty had almost worn off, so we spent just a few minutes at Kean Point before heading up the steep walkway that starts the Kaikora Peninsula walk.

A herd of cows at the start of our walk, it totally reminded us of Ireland

Along the cliffs in Kaikora

The walk we chose to do was 3.5K out to the South Bay and then back again. The first thing we noticed was how similar it was to the walks we did around the Dingle Peninsula. There were cliffs and the ocean on one side, and farmland with cows and sheep on the other. Similar to Dingle, there were steps and gates that allowed you to cross from one fenced in farm to another. I've often thought about how gracious it is for these farmers to allow people to cross their land day after day. The hiking in Ireland and New Zealand would be much poorer without this collaboration between the people who work the land and those of us who are just trying to explore and enjoy it.

Reminded of the Dingle Peninsula again!

Besides the cows and sheep, there were beautiful birds and flowers all along the walk so there was always something to look at. We followed the worn paths out to the South Bay where we climbed down to the beach below and explored the tidal pools along the water before climbing up and hiking back to Kean point. By the time we got back to Kean point we had been hiking for 3 hours and we were starving so we drove into the town center in search of food. We ended up at a bar called The Whaler, where we had a fabulous meal of Fish and Chips with a pint of local beer. By the time we finished dinner we were ready to fall asleep so we headed back to the Sunrise lodge and did just that.

Happy happy girl!

The next day we packed up our things and then headed back down to Kean point. We were headed to Marlborough wine country and then Picton that afternoon, but first we had decided to do a stretch of the Kaikora peninsula hike from down below on the beach. During low tide you can climb along the rocks and walk on the sand almost the entire length that we had done the night before from above. There are bird colonies and tidal pools and seals along the way, which made it very different from the cliffside walk. We were happy we had the chance to do both hikes.

The view along the shore for our low tide hike. It was gorgeous that day.

That afternoon we stopped at two vineyards in Marlborough, Wither Hills and Cloudy Bay. At Wither Hills the food looked so good we decided to have lunch. Shaun had a Venison pie and I had a seafood stew with some of the famous New Zealand mussels. The mussels in NZ are delicious but they can be a little scary if you've never had them as they are HUGE! Regardless, the stew was delicious and Shaun's venison pie was fabulous so we were both happy. Our final tasting on the South Island was later that day at Cloudy Bay, one of New Zealand's most famous vineyards. Cloudy Bay is known for their Sauvignon Blanc and it is no wonder. The wine was gorgeous and we thought it was a perfect end to our last full day on the South Island, but we didn't realize at the time that there was much more fun to come!

Venison Pie at Wither Hills. Yummy, if you don't mind eating bambi, which clearly we don't!

Nothing but blue skies at Cloudy Bay

That afternoon we drove up to Picton, where we would be taking the Ferry back to the North Island of New Zealand. We had booked a little no frills cabin at the Top 10 Holiday Park in Picton and we had just finished bringing in our stuff when we ran into Neil, one of our fellow campers from the Holiday park in Te Anau. Neil and his wife were from England and they were also in the middle of an extended trip to New Zealand. They were taking the Interislander ferry the next day as well. Since we had both been on the South Island for a while, we both needed to use up some food and wine before our big travel day. (No sense packing it if you can drink it right!??) We decided to meet up later that evening by the barbecues to have a little farewell dinner.

Dinner was a great time. Shaun and I contributed some smoked salmon and crackers we had bought in our travels, along with some lovely wines. Neil and his wife Sheila contributed some wine and beer, some salad and some bread that they grilled up to make garlic bread. We each bought some meat and veg to grill and we cooked it all up into a fabulous feast. We talked for hours about the things we had seen and done and the things we planned to do in the future. We had lots of laughs and lots of fun and before we knew it, it was time for bed! We said our goodbye's and we headed off to sleep, happy to have spent such a fun night in the company of such nice people.

Our new friends and fellow travellers Neil and Sheila. Jeepers I hope that's how they spell their names! I'll throw in Neal and Shelagh just to be safe!


The next day we got up early and packed up our things. The Interislander Ferry is such a common way to get between the North and South Islands that the car rental companies don't even bother having you bring the car. Instead, you just call them and tell them what day you'll be taking the ferry and then drop your car at the rental office next to the ferry before boarding. When you arrive in Wellington on the North Island they have another car waiting for you!

So our time on the South Island came to a close on the afternoon of February 5th. We checked in, dropped our bags at the baggage check and boarded the Ferry. I was excited to spend some time on the North Island, but I was a little sad. The South Island was one of the most wonderful, surprising places I have ever had the good fortune to explore. We both hope to be back soon.

The quote of the week at the Whaler in Kaikora. Priceless!

Exploring Abel Tasman and Golden Bay

Pohara & Kaiteriteri, New Zealand

January 29-February 1

The beautiful drive to Pohara through Motueka

We woke up in Westport on the morning of January 29th. We made ourselves a nice hearty breakfast of sliced kiwi, scrambled eggs, fried potatoes and coffee and packed up once again. We were heading to a town called Pohara at the northern edge of Abel Tasman National Park, but as usual, there was lots to see and do along the way. Before we even left Westport, we headed down the road to check out the Seal Colony that makes their home on Cape Foulwind. When we first arrived at the viewing area, it took a minute to find the seals. They blend in so well with the rocks that at first we didn't realize how many there were! They were sunning themselves and swimming and playing everywhere. The best part was the pups! The seals have their babies in December and January so there were tons of little baby seal pups nursing and frolicking and just laying around. We were so fascinated, we couldn't break ourselves away! We had no idea at the time that there would be many more seal sightings as our journey continued. It was our first big encounter with the seals of New Zealand but it would certainly not be our last.

Our first seal encounter at Cape Foulwind

After we left Westport and drove for a while, the landscape started to change. We had left the rocky, barren West Coast and were headed for the much more tropical northern tip of the South Island. Along the way we went through the area around Motueka that was clearly an agricultural hot spot. There were orchards everywhere, growing peaches, plums, nectarines and cherries. There were vineyards with grapes growing throughout the area and something I've never seen before- Hops farms! Beer is big business here in New Zealand and there were dozens of fields with long hanging strands of hops growing alongside the road. And of course, among the rows and rows of hops, eating the grass at the bottom, were the sheep!

So it should not surprise you that when we made a stop to pick up some fruit at a road side stand, we "accidentally" found ourselves in the parking lot of the Monkey Wizard brewing company! What a fun little place. They act just like a winery, pouring little sips of their boutique beers so you can decide what you would like to get. Once you decide, you pick your container (one liter or two liter plastic bottle anyone?) and they fill it up for you. We ordered a pale ale and an IPA in the one liter bottles, went across the street for nectarines, and we were off again.

Monkey Wizard Brewing Company

That afternoon we made the incredible journey over Takaka Hill down into Pohara. The road was a crazy one, full of twisty turns with amazing views on all sides. It was also scary as hell! It took about 40 minutes to go up one side and down the other and I was very happy to be at the bottom. Just a quiet drive through the town of Takaka and we were at the Top 10 Holiday Park in Pohara.

It was camping time again and we were both really happy that we chose this place. The kids were going back to school that week so the place was clearing out pretty fast. The woman at reception set us up with a fabulous spot right next to the ocean. There was enough of a hedge there to block the wind, but you only had to walk about 20 feet to be on the beach! That first night was wonderful! We set up our tent, ate a little dinner, poured some of our new Monkey Wizard Beer and sat down by the water watching the sun set. Then we headed back to the tent where we fell asleep listening to the sounds of the waves crashing on the beach just beyond our tent. I did have one funny moment as I drifted off to sleep. My last thought that night was, "Gee, I hope they have some sort of Tsunami warning system in place here." And then I was asleep! No worries.

This crazy duck came to see us every morning in Pohara!

The beautiful sunset at Pohara Beach. This is directly behind the bushes of our campsite.

The next morning was our big hike! We chose Pohara for its proximity to Abel Tasman National Park. Abel Tasman is a huge National Park at the northern tip of the Southern Island. There are many ways to explore Abel Tasman (boat, kayak, overnight treks) but we chose to hike. We didn't have the gear for overnight treks but we had read great things about the Coast Track that started just down the road in Wainui Bay. You could walk in and out and there were a number of logical stops along the way. Our plan was to walk to the first DOC (Dept of Conservation) Hut and then see if we wanted to go further. We packed up some hearty PB&J sandwiches, nectarines, cherries, chips and plenty of water. We loaded up on both Sunscreen and Bug Spray (sandflies are a major problem here) and we got directions to the trail head from the woman at reception.

One section of the hike. The views were amazing

It was incredible, but it was also one of the toughest days of hiking I've ever done. We basically covered 17 Kilometers (10.5 Miles) over just under 6 hours of hiking. But those 17k were on trails that ascended from sea level to 600 meters and then back down to sea level and up to about 400 meters again and down again. And that was just one way! The way out was just amazing, passing through many different types of vegetation as went up from the sea, into the treeline, up to a ridge, down by a beach and across a cliff side. We got to see one of the DOC huts called Whariwharangi hut, which was an old farmhouse built in 1898 that was converted into the current campers hut back in 1980. It is thought to be haunted, but when we saw it in the bright daylight it just looked like a welcome respite for tired backpackers. It had a stove downstairs and bunks upstairs and a sink and showers out back. I can imagine that it would be a welcome sight if you had been doing a multi-day hike! We used the picnic table there as our spot for lunch.

The DOC hut at Whariwharangi

Shags on Whariwharangi beach. At first we thought they were penguins!

Me hanging out among the crazy trees!

Separation Point was our turnaround spot. That last section went along a cliff and ended at a lighthouse down below a steep walkway. Very steep. So steep that I opted to stay above on the cliff side rather than walk down! Normally there are a lot of seals down there but on this day there were only two so I didn't really miss anything.

One section of the cliff side walk to Separation Point

The way back was the same length of time as the way out, roughly three hours, but it seemed much longer, especially as we got to the final 600 meter climb. It took close to an hour to get back up that hill for the final time. We were both exhausted and my feet felt like they were going to fall off. Finally, we passed the last summit and headed back down the trail that lead to the DOC parking lot. I've never been so happy to sit in a car before!!

As we drove back to the camp site, we were both starving. Luckily, we had the last of the chili thawed out in the fridge. We picked up some tortilla chips and cheese, poured out some Monkey Wizard beer and ate like there was no tomorrow. We had just enough energy left to take a little sunset stroll before we heading back to the tent for a very well deserved rest. It was our last night in beautiful Pohara at our campsite by the sea.

Having a beer after our long hike. So happy to be sitting down!

The next morning we got packed up early so we could do a side trip to Farewell Spit. If you remember the picture I took from the plane when we were flying to Queenstown, then you have seen Farewell Spit. It is a 27 kilometer arc of sand that stretches across the northernmost tip of the South Island. It is home to loads of birds and sea creatures and is the perfect place to go for a long beach walk. We drove up to the cafe at the start of the spit and then just meandered down the beach, checking out the herons, oystercatchers and terns. It was a lovely spot to spend the morning.

Having a coffee at the Cafe overlooking the beach

Shaun in the vastness that is Farewell Spit

These little sea creatures were making paths all along the beach


On the way back we stopped at an amazing little restaurant in the middle of nowhere. The Mussel Inn specializes in, you guessed it, New Zealand Mussels. We found it in the Lonely Planet guidebook and we were so happy we stopped. Shaun ordered the open faced fish sandwich and I ordered the mussel stew. Both were ridiculously good. It was also nice to eat out, even if was only for lunch.

Holy delicious! Lunch at the Mussell Inn

That evening we arrived in Kaiteriteri for a night. We were going to set up a tent again, but since it was $36 for a tent and only $43 for a basic cabin, we chose the cabin. The "cabin" ended up being more like a shed with a window and a bunk bed inside, but we figured what the heck, we were only sleeping there, so we dropped our stuff off and went down to the beach. That evening we used the kitchen facility to cook up a nice dinner and we ate it outside at a picnic table. After dinner we went back to the beach and enjoyed a gorgeous sunset over the water. We weren't ready to head back to "the shed" yet, so we wandered over to the Beached Whale, a little beach bar next door and had a beer. We ended up talking with a Swiss guy named Gianni who was touring New Zealand on a bike. We've seen lots of these people with their bikes packed up with gear, making their way up or down crazy winding hills. Personally, I'm glad we have a car!

Dinner in Kaiteriteri. Steak with portabellos, rice and broccoli. And wine of course!

That night we settled into the shed, hoping to get a good night's sleep and hit the beach at Kaiteriteri early. It was not to be. Let's just say that the bunk beds were like sleeping on boards with plastic covers. So it wasn't surprising that when I woke up the next morning I couldn't turn my head. I had a nice big kink in my shoulder that needed attention ASAP.

The solution was a place called Kia Ora spa. They were right up the hill from us and they were not only a hotel and spa, but also a mountain bike rental place. Since that was where Shaun was planning to rent a mountain bike, I decided to see if there were any massage openings. The masseuse only had 45 minutes before her next two clients, but I was desperate so I took the appointment. The massage was great. Even though it didn't quite fix my neck, I definitely felt better than I did when I arrived. After we finished up I worked on my blog at their little outdoor terrace while I waited for Shaun to get back from Mountain Biking. He biked at a mountain bike park that had miles and miles of specially cut mountain bike trails so he was pretty happy when he got back. It ended up being a pretty good day for both of us, I must say.

One of the things we are most enjoying about this trip is the amount of time we get to spend outdoors. Between work, weather and general responsibilities it was always a challenge to get "outdoor time" in my previous life. I like to think that when I look back on this New Zealand adventure years down the road, these long days of hiking and walking and kayaking will have made a lasting impact. For now though, gotta run, there's more paths to explore!

Sunset over Kaiteriteri