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South Pacific Solo Travel
  • Greg Clayton
  • Greg Clayton

South Pacific Solo Travel

A 112-day adventure by Greg. Read more
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  • Greg ClaytonSouth Pacific Solo TravelTraveler
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    Pohutu Geyser

    February 13, 2024 in New Zealand ☀️ 20 °C

    The centre piece of Te Puia is the Pohutu Geyser. The hot water from the earth's core bubbles onto the surface continually with a large eruption of up to 20m taking place every half an hour. The smell of eggs here was super strong but it was also nice and warm!Read more

  • Greg ClaytonSouth Pacific Solo TravelTraveler

    Whakarewarewa Forest

    February 13, 2024 in New Zealand ☀️ 23 °C

    Just along the road from Te Puia is Whakarewarewa Forest. The Californian Redwood trees that dominate the forest here grow incredibly tall and straight which makes for wonderful forest scenery. I opted for the 11.5km purple route around the forest.

    The route headed up towards the highest point of the forest and back down and around in a circular loop. I therefore didn't end up leaving until after 7 o'clock!

    When I made it back to my hostel room I discovered a German guy called Aaron in the bunk next to me who I did the Tongariro Crossing with a few days ago!    Read more

  • Greg ClaytonSouth Pacific Solo TravelTraveler

    Rafting - Trout Pool Falls

    February 14, 2024 in New Zealand ☀️ 21 °C

    Today I signed up for some white water rafting down the Kaituna River! A 1.8km journey down 14 rapids and 3 waterfalls, graded 3 (challenging) to 5 (extremely difficult).

    First up was Trout Pool Falls, two back to back waterfalls with drops of 2m and 1m.

    Myself and another solo traveller were nominated to take the front row which I'm almost certain means we took the full brunt of most of the rapids and waterfalls.    Read more

  • Greg ClaytonSouth Pacific Solo TravelTraveler

    Tutea Falls

    February 14, 2024 in New Zealand ☀️ 22 °C

    Next up was the 'big one'. With a drop of 7m, Tutea Falls is the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the entire world!

    Before facing the drop we were briefed on what to do in the 4 possible scenarios. The scenarios being:
    1. We make it fine.
    2. You fall out of the raft.
    3. The raft capsizes.
    4. The raft is submerged under the waterfall for a prolonged period.

    Luckily for us, scenario 1 happened and the 3 rafts following all had the same fate. Since our group led the pack we got to encourage all of the other groups down after us.

    We were all super proud of our bravery and making it out the other side alive.    Read more

  • Greg ClaytonSouth Pacific Solo TravelTraveler

    General Rafting

    February 14, 2024 in New Zealand ☀️ 22 °C

    Other things we tried out were standing up down a rapid, swimming down a rapid, leaning off the front Titanic style whilst going down a rapid and the 'washing machine'.

    When swimming down the rapid I somewhat overshot our raft and ended up having to clamber onto the raft behind ours.

    The 'washing machine' is where you paddle headfirst into one of the rapids, submerging the people at the front of the raft into the metaphorical washing machine.    Read more

  • Greg ClaytonSouth Pacific Solo TravelTraveler

    Ohinemutu

    February 14, 2024 in New Zealand ⛅ 25 °C

    The coastal path led to the village of Ohinemutu, an actual living, breathing, non-commercial Maori village. There were more than a dozen traditional Maori buildings within the community and the geothermal activity in the village was incredible, with a number of properties having mud pools or geothermal rocks in their front gardens.Read more

  • Greg ClaytonSouth Pacific Solo TravelTraveler

    Kuirau Park

    February 14, 2024 in New Zealand ⛅ 24 °C

    I then took a wander through the rest of the park. There were various other smaller geothermal pools, flowerbeds and a rather toasty geothermal footbath.

    Due to the heat, it took some perseverance to be able to keep my feet in the water but after a minute or 2 I got used to it.Read more

  • Greg ClaytonSouth Pacific Solo TravelTraveler
    1

    Journeying

    February 15, 2024 in New Zealand ☀️ 15 °C

    This morning was a relatively long journey from Rotorua to Auckland Airport. The purpose of the trip being to collect my hire car for the next 4 days!

    I'll be visiting Waitomo Glow Worm Caves, Hobbiton and the Coromandel Peninsula.

    First up was the Waitomo Glow Caves so at about 1:15pm I set off on the road.    Read more

  • Greg ClaytonSouth Pacific Solo TravelTraveler

    Waitomo Look Out

    February 15, 2024 in New Zealand ⛅ 24 °C

    After a long drive including a lunch stop I arrived into Waitomo. First up I was a little early for my tour so I took a short walk up to a nearby viewpoint.

  • Greg ClaytonSouth Pacific Solo TravelTraveler

    Waitomo Glowworm Caves

    February 15, 2024 in New Zealand ⛅ 24 °C

    The clue here is in the name, the ceiling of these caves in Waitomo are in fact full of glowing worms!

    We were guided through the caves partially on foot and partially via a boat ride to see and learn all about the glowworms.

    The light produced from the worms is due to a chemical reaction in the worms digestive system. Each worm has long sticky strings dangling from it which are invisible in the darkness of the caves and used to catch flies!

    There were no photos or phones allowed in the caves so I've pulled a few images off Google of what the caves actually looked like.    Read more

  • Greg ClaytonSouth Pacific Solo TravelTraveler

    End of the Day

    February 15, 2024 in New Zealand ☁️ 22 °C

    I finished the day in an Airbnb somewhere between Waitomo and Hobbiton (where I'll be heading in the morning).

    The drive from Waitomo to here was particularly beautiful thanks to low/no roadside hedges and the rolling hills and mountains.

    There was a particular point in the drive where I came over the crest of a hill onto a straight road where I could see well over 100 small birds ahead spread along the road as far as the eye could see. I slowed down as I drove towards them and they scarpered one by one out of the way, it was quite the sight!

    All in all I covered 254km today so not bad for a day's work!    Read more

  • Greg ClaytonSouth Pacific Solo TravelTraveler

    Setting off to Hobbiton

    February 16, 2024 in New Zealand ⛅ 12 °C

    This morning I was up and out early as I was booked onto the 8:30 Hobbiton tour!

    Outside of my Airbnb the mist was low over the hills but cleared once I'd taken the many winding roads to Hobbiton.

    The set is 12 acres in size within a larger 1,250 acre farm. Upon arrival at the farm we were given a booklet (including a map) and boarded a coach to take the short ride into Hobbiton itself.

    Apologies for the upcoming Hobbiton spam!    Read more

  • Greg ClaytonSouth Pacific Solo TravelTraveler

    Hobbiton - The Dell

    February 16, 2024 in New Zealand ☀️ 17 °C

    Next we ascended up the village through the Dell. Since I was first to the top, I was the first to have my photo taken at the Hobbit hole with the door ajar!

    The houses in Hobbiton are all built on different scales to give perspective of the different heights between certain charachters.Read more

  • Greg ClaytonSouth Pacific Solo TravelTraveler

    Bag End

    February 16, 2024 in New Zealand ☀️ 18 °C

    At the top of the set, overlooking the rest of the village is Bag End, home of course to Bilbo Baggins! I was the first up to here so managed to get a few videos and photos whilst it was relatively quiet.

    The tree atop the Hobbit hole is completely fake, and Sir Peter Jackson pulled in a shed load of students to paint the thousands of leaves in the days before filming began as he decided he didn't like the colour.

    Also, Ian Holm who played the older Bilbo Baggins never actually stepped foot in New Zealand once due to a medical condition. All of his parts of the films were filmed on sets in the UK.    Read more

  • Greg ClaytonSouth Pacific Solo TravelTraveler

    Party Field and Party Tree

    February 16, 2024 in New Zealand ☀️ 19 °C

    Next up was the party field and party tree where Bilbo famously celebrated his eleventy-first birthday! On the way down to the field we stopped by a few Hobbit holes to really appreciate the detail of the designs.Read more

  • Greg ClaytonSouth Pacific Solo TravelTraveler

    Bagshot Row

    February 16, 2024 in New Zealand ☀️ 19 °C

    We then began to descend once again through the set, stopping off at Bagshot Row, home to Sam Gamgee!

    Two of the Hobbit holes here have been fully kitted out inside into liveable conditions. The attention to detail was crazy with more in the next post!Read more

  • Greg ClaytonSouth Pacific Solo TravelTraveler

    Inside a Hobbit Hole

    February 16, 2024 in New Zealand ☀️ 20 °C

    Here is where the attention to detail really stepped up a level.

    First of all the study with the opening lines of the Hobbit, then the family tree in the kitchen, cooking recipes, newspaper clippings and what amazed me the most was an exposed beam where you could just about make out the faint measurements of the family children over the years.Read more

  • Greg ClaytonSouth Pacific Solo TravelTraveler

    The Millhouse and Bridge

    February 16, 2024 in New Zealand ☀️ 20 °C

    With my ginger beer in hand I headed outside to take another look at the now quieter Millhouse and bridge.

    These were my last actions in Hobbiton before setting off on the road again via coach and car.

    Even for someone who isn't a big LotR fan, this was an incredibly surreal experience!    Read more

  • Greg ClaytonSouth Pacific Solo TravelTraveler

    Karangahake Gorge

    February 16, 2024 in New Zealand ⛅ 25 °C

    My next stop was at Karangahake Gorge. There are a number of walking routes to take here, following the winding paths and crossing the various bridges. I chose the Rail Tunnel Circular route, more about this in the next footprint!Read more