World Trip 2017-18

We drove a very scenic coastal loop to Russell and the Bay of Islands (a very popular tourist destinations).

At Whangaruru Peninsula we walked a 6km loop past a wetland, along the coast and through the rainforest. Buzzing bees were everywhere and the flowers smelt great. It turned out they were Manuka trees, from which the famous (and expensive) Manuka honey is made. The track took us to a Trig (hilltop viewpoint) with a great 360° view.

Further along the road, a small trail ventured off onto a small headland. It had steep edges but was totally worth it. The view of Elliot Bay up ahead was really nice. The waves were washing up against the rocks and below a few small islands and coves had formed.

At Elliot Bay, a creek was carving its way through the beach. We walked along the water, past a headland and came out to a nice long stretch of calm beach. We jumped in the water and did some bodysurfing. The water was a lot colder than in Australia though! A bunch of large rocks at the edge of the surf created natural pools where we saw more starfish. And we explored some dark (but unfortunately empty) caves in the rocks.

We drove on to Russell, a small town where whalers used to get drunk and have a good time. Now it was a tourist hotspot, with several monuments to New Zealand’s history and good views of Bay of Islands. We went up to Flagpole Hill, where a Maori chief cut down the British flag four times, each time it was resurrected. Eventually the British started a battle over it, which the Maori won. Today the relationship between the Maori and “settlers” is much better. The hill also had a large, artistic sundial.

At the campsite, we saw our first wekas, large, chicken-like birds. We heard that there were also kiwi birds nearby and that they would come out at night. I set up my lawn chair, covered myself in dark blankets and hoped one would come out of the bushes. From my perch, I heard a few kiwi calls (15 screeches, eeee---eeee---eeee…, 17 screeches, one far off in the distance) but none came out. After an hour or so, I called it quits and crawled in the van.

In the morning, we did a short track overlooking the Bay of Islands. It started in a richer part of town, with many large houses overlooking the ocean. We walked up the green grassy fields and saw two guinea pigs hiding in the grass. We climbed to the top of the hill. The views were breathtaking (or maybe it was the tough climb up the hills).Läs mer

We drove to the Waipu Caves to see glowworms! It was a long (quiet) road off the main highway. When we got there the parking lot was full of camper vans. A short walk took us down to the entrance. We hopped across some rocks to cross a stream flowing into the cave. Then, turning the corner, it quickly became too dark to see, even a meter in front of you! We waited patiently behind a giant stalagmite* for our eyes to adjust**.

*Stalagmites (with an "M") are icicle shaped rocks that "grow" from the ground. Stalagtites (with an extra "T") hang from the ceiling. How are they formed? Water condensates against the cave ceiling, dissolves a little limestone (calcium carbonate), runs down the ceiling and deposits lime at the lowest point. This is the tip of the icicle or stalagtite. Water drops can also deposit lime where they fall. And since the drops keep falling on the same spot, the deposit "grows" up, forming a stalagmite!
**The rods in your eyes need to produce an enzyme for you to be able to see in the dark. It takes about 7 minutes. We need to fact-check the enzyme part, but the timing was pretty good!

In the meantime, other people were tromping by with flashlights and cellphones. We kept our heads down and carefully felt our way along the slippery walls and muddy floor. The light from the other tourists was more than enough. We could see a few lights, like stars, hanging from the ceiling. A little deeper into the cave and the large cavern ceiling was decorated with tiny specks of light all over. But since it was so dark, it looked as if they were floating above us in the air, just like the Milky Way in the nightsky. Really beautiful!

Mats went deeper into the cave, climbing over large boulders. Here you really needed your flashlight, since only few others ventured further. The cave went back down to the creek. Knowing that the cave was a dead-end, and it was impossible to get lost, Mats followed the creek deeper into the darkness. At some points, you had to wade waist deep through the creek. At other points, another cavern opened with more glowworms, and no flashlights around! You might wonder, if the creek flows into the cave, and it's a dead-end, where does all the water go? Well, a blockage of tree stumps at the end still lets the water through, but barred the way for the cave explorers. Following the creek back up the cave, you could really see how the cave has been shaped by water over time. The smooth rock features were really cool.

Climbing out of the dark cave was an experience in itself. Try explaining colour to a person who is colourblind, and you won't be able to use words to describe concepts like green, blue, orange. We just take colour for granted. After being in the dark, black-and-white cave for over an hour, the colours outside the cave were super-vivid. Incredible!Läs mer