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AUCKLAND - NEW ZEALAND

AUCKLAND

I’m sad to say that these are the last photos of our camper-van trip around the north Island of New Zealand. They include the day we left Waitomo and the two full days in Auckland before heading back home to New Caledonia. Not much to show unfortunately as we were quite busy running around shopping for specific things. Alain and I anyway. If you like to see a little more of what we were up to for these three days, check out the videos of these last days.

So we woke up on a beautiful, fresh morning. Alain and I went for a stroll around the Roselands Restaurant’s green surroundings. We got a closer look at our friends the donkey and the cattle. Once the beautiful golden hour light appeared through the clouds we took a couple of photos and on the way back to the scamper-van I took another of a different field. The light was so beautiful. These photos are some of my favourites of the trip.

After breakfast it was time to make our way back to Auckland. We had a quick stopover in Hamilton, just to grab a couple things. Once back in Auckland we cleaned out and refilled the waters in the camper-van before returning it. It was our first time traveling in a camper-van and all agreed that we didn’t feel cramped at any time. Yes it’s small but we managed not to step on each other’s feet. A great way to explore New Zealand. A lot freedom to move when ever you like but not stay wherever you’d like, though. Worth doing at least once in a life time.

I got up early one morning in hopes of going to Mount Eden for a couple of photos but it was grey and overcast and raining. I changed my mind and decided to head over to another park I saw on our first day here. It led up to the Auckland War Memorial Museum. A beautiful building with gorgeous surroundings. Check out the video to see a bit of the park. About an hour after sunrise the sun broke through the clouds and I started to regret my decision to come here. Oh well. I took a few photos and headed back to the hotel.

One morning we had a delicious breakfast at Al’s Deli and in the toilet they had a riddle “There’s two twins that live either side of a bridge, and sometimes they cry. What are they?”. Do you know the answer?

Alain and I went to Takapuna on the North Shore to check out a shop. We didn’t find what we were after so we walked around a little and found the Takapuna Beach. It started raining pretty heavy so we quickly took a photo then cover. We headed back into the city to join the girls after that.

Alain took a couple of photos of The Guardian building which I found interesting. I wanted to include them in the blog so I edited them and oh man do I like these photos. I have no idea when he took them but i’m glad he did. For me it’s the Kiwi version of The Daily Planet in Superman. He also took another photo that I really like, the Skytower amongst cranes. Excellent shot.

On the eve of our departure, friends arrived to start their camper-van holiday. After we all had dinner together, the teenagers of both parties wanted to checkout the nightlife but weren’t too confident going out on their own. So we decided to accompany them. I mentioned in the video that the teens were surprised we knew the music. Not much of a surprised since it was old tunes remixed. I don’t know if they believed us. We did feel slightly out of place being the only over 30s in the joint. Well there was one other bloke just hitting his 30s, who came up to us and said “Man, I thought I was the oldest guy here but you guys… f**k!”. Boy didn’t we feel old all of a sudden. Little p***k. Nonetheless we had a great time.

An early morning departure meant we couldn’t have an all-nighter. Not at our age anyway hihihi. Got to the airport early. Checked-in and had breakfast. And that is that, my friends.

That’s it for our little trip around the north Island of New Zealand. I apologise for the bad video quality, I promise I’ll try to improve on that. I hope these videos have helped you in some way or at least entertained you. One more time, a huge thank you to Alain for the use of his photos and videos to help me tell a better story. And to Manu and Paloma for an unforgettable trip. Last but not least, thank you to all of you for watching. Goodnight.

p.s. I haven’t mentioned it before, only because I hadn’t realised, but all the links I provide in my blog posts are NOT affiliate, commercial or sponsored links. I DON’T make any money from these links. I provide them as quick access to extra information, that’s it. If that ever changes, in any way, in the future, I will let you know. Promise.

WAITOMO - NEW ZEALAND

WAITOMO CAVES

Quite surprised to wake up on a foggy morning after day 10 ended in beautiful, blue skies. We head straight to Waitomo today to checkout the glowworm caves.

Not wanting to wake up the girls, Alain and I strolled to the Whanganui River which ran just behind the Taumarunui Holiday Park. I was hoping for a photo but couldn’t find an interesting composition. Alain took a couple then we headed back to the campervan. We had breakfast then headed off.

We bought the tickets at the Legendary Black Water Rafting Co. and also had lunch there. We took the option to visit all three caves, which would take us most of the afternoon.

Aranui Cave was the first we visited. Our group was small and our guide was wonderful which made the whole experience very nice. It starts with a small walk in the forest and a little story on the Silver Fern. Quite interesting. The cave is fairly narrow with a few high ceiling caverns. The stalactites are of every size you can imagine but I was less impressed than I thought I’d be. But I realised later that it was the smallest of the caves we visited. Still beautiful though.

The much anticipated Glowworm Caves was next. Unfortunately we weren’t permitted to take photos so I have a nothing to show you but will briefly describe the experience. You start with a narrow descent along a metallic walkway until you arrive in the, so called, cathedral area. A huge cavern with very few stalactites. You also realise you’re not the only group there. In this cathedral they talk about the stalactites and stalagmites, the glowworms and you get to see how they hang by a silk thread, and you get to sing in the dark. Once again you make your way along the narrow, metallic walkway to the underground river. There, you hop aboard a small boat where you make your way farther into the cave. It is pitch black. You can’t even see your hands in front of your face. Then all of a sudden the ceiling lights up in thousands, millions of tiny blue lights. Like stars on a clear night. Absolutely wonderful. I’ve never seen anything like it. So beautiful. You slowly see daylight as you come out of the cave and that’s the end of the tour. You get off the boat and make your way along a path surrounded by trees back up to the main area.

The last but definitely not the least, Ruakuri Cave is a mix of the previous two, the Aranui Cave and Glowworm Caves. Large caverns, narrow paths, stalactites and stalagmites, silk threads and glowworms, and an out-of-this-world entrance. A long spiral ramp about 40 metres high. The history of this caves is very interesting too. I think it’s the longest of all the caves. There’s a lot to see in this cave.

I recommend doing all three caves. It’s well worth while and the money. There are other options for adrenaline junkies too. It was late afternoon by the time we’d finished the visits and opted for a free campsite for the night. We found the Roselands Restaurant who let campervans stay for free in their carpark. Very smart of them because we ended up eating at the restaurant. Couldn’t resist the buffet and the BBQ cooked meat on option. Not too expensive either. The place is upon a hill with beautiful views. They can organise all your outings too.

Well that it for day 11 everyone. Tomorrow we head back to Auckland for three days. Hope to see you then. Goodnight.

p.s. a big thank you to Alain for some of his pics.

TONGARIRO NATIONAL PARK - NEW ZEALAND

TONGARIRO ALPINE CROSSING

A very early morning start for day 10 of our New Zealand, North Island trip. We spend most of today hiking the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.

A 19.4 kilometre walk starting from the Mangatepopo carpark and ending at the Ketetaki carpark. It’s a 6 and a half hour hike that took us 7 hours to do. Which is pretty good considering I though it would take us a lot longer. Well a couple of hours longer anyway.

I think it was towards the end of blue hour when we started the easy walk through the valley. A small gradient for about 5 kilometres. A comfortable walk along a well maintained path that, not long after, becomes a raised wooden platform. All in the middle of low lying brush and small streams.

Then you arrive at a sign that asks if you’re sure you want to keep going because if you thought the last 5 kilometres were tough, the next 6 are a gruelling, constant uphill battle. And maybe you should think about turning back, now. To me it was the toughest part of the hike. You’re constantly walking up a steep hill and climbing stairs. A different environment from here on. Very rocky.

All worthwhile when you reach the top, not the summit, and see the grandiosity of the Red Crater. It reminded me of planet Mars. This is what it would look like, I thought to myself. We could clearly see Mount Ngauruhoe with it’s spots of snow. There were a few around the crater as well. The temperature had dropped a bit too.

After the red Crater, Mount Ngauruhoe and the desert surroundings, we came to the beautiful sight of the Blue Lake. In my opinion more beautiful and impressive here, from afar, than up close.

Another steep climb awaits but much shorter and slippery this time to reach the summit. Very windy and cold up here but my oh my what a gorgeous view. The Emerald Lakes are just majestic. So much so you tend to forget the 360º panoramic views.

The descent to the lakes is very steep and slippery with loose rocks and dirt. I saw 2 or 3 people hurt themselves from this descent. Ankles and knees get quite a beating here.

Once down you can get up close and personal to the three lakes. And they are just as impressive and beautiful right in front of your eyes. Each unique to one another in every way. Just amazing.

When you’re done admiring the Emeralds Lakes, you have the Large Crater to cross before reaching the Blue Lake.

The Blue Lake is much Larger than the three others and, as I mentioned before, less impressive up close than from afar. From here it looked like just another lake. From farther away you see it in it’s environment, surroundings, above the clouds and it makes you wonder, how?

The terrain changes back from a desert to very rocky again. An easy going walk until we reached public toilets. There are a few of them every 5 or 6 kilometres. We had lunch with a view down the valley and a helicopter spectacle. They were dropping men and equipment to clean and empty the toilets. The speed at which they did it was quite impressive. No photos but we captured it in video if you want to check it out.

The environment changes again from here on to dry brushes and rocks and, if you look carefully, small, beautiful plants. Stunning views down the valley from here on too. I briefly met an old lady, perhaps in her 60’s, along this track. I don’t think it was her first time crossing the alpine.

It’s all down hill from here on and the track become very well maintained. It wounds down to the Ketetaki Shelter where most people stopped for a bite, drink, rest and socialise a little. Between here and the forest I saw, for the second time, a young boy and his mother who were also doing the alpine crossing. The boy looked 10 years old. As I mentioned on my video post, young and old can do this hike.

So the forest is very welcoming as it’s the only time you find shade along the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. A little cooler too but very humid. I quite enjoyed the walk here. Nothing really picturesque to photograph apart this little cascade but, again, check out the video if you want to see what it’s like. Once you walk out of the forest, that’s it, you’ve arrive at the Ketetaki carpark. The end of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.

We didn’t have to wait long before our shuttle bus arrived to bring us back to the Discovery Lodge Tongariro, where we stayed last night, for a nice shower and rest. We were going to stay the night too but felt pretty good and anxious to move on. So we packed up and left Tongaririo National Park. We drove a few kilometres towards our next destination before stopping at Taumarunui Holiday Park in Mananui for the night.

That’s it everyone until the next video. Tomorrow we head off to Waitomo to go underground.

p.s. thank you once again to Alain for the use of some of his photos.

ROTORUA - NEW ZEALAND

ROTORUA

Wish I had more time to visit Rotorua. There’s so much to see here. Click here if you haven’t seen the video of day 7. There are a few things on it that I haven’t taken photos of.

My morning started early with a stroll where I found myself on a sulphur plateau near the Puaranga Stream. It was overcast when I arrived but then golden hour just exploded through some clouds just long enough for me to setup and capture it. Not the best of compositions but better than nothing in my eyes. It covered up again for the next few hours. I saw a path heading into some bushes along the sulphur plateau and thought I’d follow it in hopes of capturing more photos. Not a lot to photograph but a very nice path nonetheless.

So once we all had breakfast, we headed to Kuirau Park & Mud Pools. I was surprised to find different hot water springs in such a small area. Black water, aqua water, green with white bubbles not to mention the light and dark brown mud bubbles. Very interesting. There was an area where you could dip your feet into the hot springs as well, which the girls took to right away.

After the park we took the Skyline to the Volcanic Hills Wine Tasting Room. The Skyline is a must just for the amazing views. Before the alcohol though, we visited the Jelly Belly Store where we tasted some very bizarre flavoured lollies. Then Alain luge raced before we all had lunch. I don’t have any photos of the wine tasting but check out the video or the link just above to see what the place looks like. The wines were very good and the whole experience was great.

Our last visit of the day was the Ohinemutu Maori Village. Here you’l find amazing carvings decorating the buildings. A very peaceful area on the shores of Lake Rotorua. My photos don’t do justice to these beautiful buildings.

Our stop for the night was the Cosy Cottage Thermal Holiday Park. We were supposed to do the Redwoods Treewalk that evening but it started to rain pretty heavy and didn’t stop till late in the night. Very unfortunate because it looks like an amazing thing to do.

Day 7 is over. Tomorrow we visit a wonderland before heading to Taupo. Hope to see you then. Goodnight.

p.s. thanks to Alain and his wife, Manu, for the use of some of their photos and videos.

THE 309 ROAD - THE COROMANDEL - NEW ZEALAND

FROM WARKWORTH THROUGH THE 309 ROAD TO COOKS BAY

Here are the photos from the last video. I’ve added a few extras that weren’t used in the video.

To recap the video and these photos, we stayed overnight at the Sheepworld Caravan & Camping Park in Warkworth (New Zealand) then traveled across The Coromandel via The 309 Road to Cooks Bay.

Though we didn’t stay very long at the Sheepworld Caravan & Camping Park, after walking around the place, I became very fond of it. The rustic country look. The Crash Start in the middle of the backyard. The volleyball net with stuff growing off it. The red sheep. Cow50 who posed for a photo but then wanted to eat my tripod. And beautiful, little, white flowers. Oh and the view of the mountains from the carpark was amazing too.

Our first stop of the day was Auckland to sort out some problems we had with the camper-van. We didn’t record any of that part of the trip. I regret it a little but can’t do anything about it now.

From Auckland we headed south-east to The Coromandel towards Preece Point. From there onto The 309 Road where we stumbled upon Stuart & The Pigs (without Stuart) and stopped at Waiau Waterfall. I really like this waterfall because the area is small, it’s completely surrounded by forest and there’s a small waterhole. Lovely little spot.

Our day ended in Cooks Bay where we parked our camper-van on a free site just behind the Purangi Regional Reserve, along the Oyster River (I think that’s the river’s name but am not sure). Only took a couple of late afternoon shots then we just sat back and relaxed. It was the end of a long day of driving.

Next post is a video where we visit a cathedral and a gorge. Hope to see you then. Ciao.

p.s. can not forget to thank Alain for his contribution to this set of photos as well.