Hunting for stones
21 mai 2018, Nouvelle-Zélande ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C
We were optimistic this morning when we woke up and rain finally eased. We had two major downpours in the night where we both woke up because it was so loud. Our van leaks in a few places so I was worried we would wake up in a mini swimming pool but luckily it wasn't too bad. It's a little tricky spending so much time on the wettest coast in the country with a leaky van. After breakfast we drove the 35 minute journey from our camping spot to Hokitika Gorge which is known for its clear blue waters and dramatic swing bridge. Apparently you can jump from the bridge into the water. Unfortunately we didn't get to see the blue water or test our bravery on the bridge because the road leading up to it was closed. Annoyingly as well apart from farms it's the only thing around in this area but there were no signs about the road closure until you were there so we drove all that way not knowing. On our way back we stopped at a memorial for victims of serial killer who attacked and killed many people including police men. This happened ages ago so it was hard to comprehend anyone in this small town in New Zealand with only a few farms are being capable of being NZ's first serial killer. We drove to the town at Hokitika and asked in the i-site when the road to the gorge would be open again. She knew nothing of it which was strange but I don't think we will risk driving all that way again to check later on if it's accessible or not. After a quick coffee and a pie we walked around town and down to the beach. The rain came in waves and was very unpredictable so we had to duck in and out of shops. On the beach they have a cool homemade sign of their town's name made from sticks of wood. We visited a place where you can carve your own greenstone, bone or shell into a piece of jewellery. Greenstone, or jade, is very popular in NZ and was treasured by the Maori people. This town is one of the places where you can kind it on the beach. We also found out that we could use our own rocks to make necklaces so before deciding what we'd do we headed to the beach to look for our own stones. We both fell in love with a couple but when we took them back found out we couldn't work with any because they were too fragile, hard or broken. Nick's now very determined to find our own stones somewhere on route and to come back to this place to carve them at a later date. After accepting Hokitika wasn't the place to get stones we headed north to our camp spot for the night in a cafe car park. We were treated to a pretty beautiful colour show at sunset. It's not the most glamorous of campsite but it's not bad when you consider it's free. Hopefully the highway traffic will soon quieten down!En savoir plus
Nick's made it as a firefighter!
22 mai 2018, Nouvelle-Zélande ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
Bruce had recently been in contact and recommended we visited Shanty Town when he discovered we are now on the West Coast. It's a replica gold mining town that gives you an insight into the lives of the people who worked and lived in these pop up towns. We set off early from our freedom camping spot and were one of the first ones to arrive to the attraction. As we entered so did a group of young school children all wearing high vis jackets who looked adorable when we saw them later on dressed up in old fashioned clothing. We were quickly ushered through to make it on board the next steam train ride. Because of maintenance work we weren't able to go to the full journey but we felt we didn't really need to. The ride itself was relatively boring but afterwards the driver invited Nick and I to have a look at the engine which was more interesting. Turns out the engine was made around the corner from Temple Meads station back home in Bristol. Only 3 were brought over to New Zealand and they recently spent $200,000 keeping this one going. He was very passionate about it so it was nice to talk to him and have this one on one experience. We walked around all the different buildings learning about the history of the gold mining in this area and seeing items from this time period. We watched a video that showed the darker side to gold mining and told the tale of a band of men who killed people in the bush in hopes of taking their gold. I think Nick's favourite part was getting to be a "real" fire fighter on a model fire truck. They also had a couple of original buildings that have since been moved to the site, this included a beautiful church although we couldn't stay inside it for long because of such a strong smell of airfreshner. Nick's been wanting to try panning for gold so we paid for him to be able to give this a try. It wasn't quite what we expected because the gold had been placed into the dirt to guarantee you'll get some but at least he got to try the technique. We also got to see a demonstration of a dredge gun that was used in the area to blast the bottoms of rivers to lift out the gold and wash it downstream where it was caught in wooden slats. The demos only usually run at 2 times of the day but after talking for a long time to the guy who did the gold panning with us he offered to put it on for us which was very kind of him. It was incredibly powerful but completely destroyed the landscape so you can see why they weren't used for long. They also had a section on timber and explained how New Zealand was seen by early settlers to have a never ending supply of timber. It took them 40 odd years of intense logging to realise even the introduced trees that had been brought into to the country were not growing back at the same rate as they were being cut down at. A shocking fact we read said that the West Coast only makes up 8% of the land mass of New Zealand but after this 40 years of logging by the end of this period it contained over half of the country's native trees and forest. That just blew my mind and really put into perspective how intensely New Zealand's trees were logged. As you drive the West Coast seeing these beautiful rainforests makes you feel quite pleased that they didn't really log this area. After we'd explored everywhere we carried on driving north and arrived in Greymouth where we are staying the night. The wind and rain is so strong tonight and we've had to move the van around twice to make sure we are facing the wind and that the leaky window is mainly out of the rain. It's meant to ease later so hopefully we won't blow away!En savoir plus
Rocks that look like pancakes
23 mai 2018, Nouvelle-Zélande ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C
Luckily the rain and wind did pipe down a bit last night and this morning seemed to be a brighter day. We know from experience now that it can all be deceptive and within minutes it'll change so we made sure we were prepared today for a downpour at any time. We were lacking a plan from this point onwards so we headed to a coffee shop to get on Wi-Fi to research some things about our next steps. Also we have decided for Nick's birthday we will book into an Airbnb for a couple of nights to give us a mini break from life in the van. We spent time this morning working out where we'd expect to be and we've given ourselves the deadline of the 31st to be in the North island where we've booked a place to stay in Wellington. It'll be nice to be able to sleep in a bed for a couple of nights that we haven't had to assemble and disassemble in the morning! This gives us just over a week to cover the top of the South island and we also realised if we do miss anything out we are coming back down onto the South island at some point so we can always do these things then or even in summer. Since visiting the jewellery makers we are more determined than ever to find our own stones to use to make some unique pieces. We drove to the outskirts of Greymouth where a huge stretch of pebble beach is. There were millions of stones and we both set off in opposite directions eyes down picking up any that might be promising. We'd probably spent a good 30 to 45 minutes wondering around and looking and it was only when we looked back at each other did we realise how far we'd walked. Nick was a small spec on the horizon and waved his umbrella at me to signal he was ready to move on. As I walked back towards the van I was still glancing down when I saw what looked like the shape of a bottom. I picked it up and was quite surprised to find that it was indeed a bottom on a very worn down china doll that has no legs or head. It's the most bizarre feeling to hold it and not know anything about it's origin or how it ended up here. We'd both found a good few stones but I'm not sure any will be workable. It turns out it's quite hard to find the "right" ones. We continued on our way and drove quite a distance up to Pancake Rocks. We did stop at a few view points on the way which overlooked the beautifully rough Tasman sea. The rocks themselves looked like stacks of pancakes and geologists can't actually work out how they formed in such even and precise layers. The erosion that has happened on them is incredible and the railed path takes you over huge archways where the sea has powered through the rock below. Many places now also have blow holes where the water and spray shoots up when the waves are at their biggest. The sound of the force and power of the sea below was amazing and it's beautiful how it's sculpted the landscape. After admiring the area for quite some time we headed north again towards Westport where we planned to stay the night. 15km or so from the town we saw a sign for a seal colony so we took the detour out to sea. We were met by loads of Weka birds in the carpark which look a bit similar to the kiwi and are often mistaken for the kiwi itself. After a short walk we could see the seals and pups on the rocks below as the sun began to set. As we left the rain began and we received quite a few smiles from people as we ran past then back to the van. We made it to Westport and to our freedom camp spot by the beach. It's not a bad spot but the rain is coming down pretty hard now so we will have to see how it is in the morning in regards to our plans for tomorrow.En savoir plus
Failing at escaping the rain
24 mai 2018, Nouvelle-Zélande ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C
So we woke up this morning to the biggest of downpours. Unfortunately we had planned to head even higher up the coast to visit the Oparara Arches but the weather was predicted the same as Westport; terriontal rain all day with no sign of it easing. We came to the conclusion that this will just have to be added to the list of things to do in summer and instead we headed inland towards Nelson. On the way the weather seemed to ease and we had brief moments of seeing the sun. The drive was very long but we eventually entered Nelson Lakes national park which has two major lakes. We visited Lake Rotoroa first and as we arrived the rain caught up with us and it chucked it down. We sat in the back of the van having tea from our flask to warm us up. Once it had cleared up a bit we ventured out to the jetty and had a look around at the scenery. The clouds were obscuring most of the view which was a shame but it was still nice to have a walk around and look at the fish in the lake. For some reason Nick's walking boots were wet inside today so we decided against doing the set walks here because they all were on muddy tracks and it would have ruined his other shoes. We didn't mind though because soon enough the rain was coming down once more. We headed back on the road and drove what felt like forever to the next lake called Lake Rotoiti. This lake also had a jetty and we were lucky enough to see an eel swimming around the end of it. We wondered if people feed it because it did look as if it was waiting for something. It's a bit of a backpacking tradition to jump off this jetty into the lake to get a good photo so it could be that he was hoping to get a nibble on one of our toes! Not surprisingly we were not fancying a dip in the lake today seeing as it's been pretty cold and wet already. Instead we explored the area and watched the ducks go about their lives. The cloud seemed to be shifting so we stuck around and we are glad we did because within half an hour or so we could actually see the mountains in the distance much more clearly. You can see the difference between the first two photos. We did drive up to what was marked on the map as a lookout point. The track was very narrow, windy and steep but we managed to get up there, luckily passing only two cars at quite conviennient wider spots. We parked up behind a car we'd seen at the jetty and all four passengers who were outside turned around and gave us the strangest of stares making us feel quite weirded out. We couldn't find the lookout and with people acting strange nearby we decided to turn around and head back down and on our way towards Nelson. We spent the night in Richmond which is just below Nelson at a paid campsite. It was rather compact and strange to see caravans and campers that have taken up permanent spots on the site. Some even had gardens and ornaments outside and you do wonder how much they pay to occupy a site all year round. Seeing as my last shower was a freezing cold one in the campervan (Nick used all the hot water) having a nice hot shower here was amazing. We also made full use of the kitchen and spread out making pizzas in the mini ovens. It did result in a small miniature, teeny tiny fire but we won't go into that!En savoir plus
The centre of New Zealand
25 mai 2018, Nouvelle-Zélande ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
I was incredibly excited to discover that there is an exhibition showing in Nelson called the World of Wearableart, or WOW for short. In second year of uni I wrote a research paper all around the subject of when is a fashion garment classed as a piece of art. I was surprised that this competition has been running for many decades because when I was researching this topic it never came up at all. It's a world wide competition although it seemed most of the contestants were from New Zealand. I guess if your country hosts the contest every college and university would be pushing for you to enter. The garments were weird, wacky, amazing, clever and innovative. One thing they all had in common was the sheer time and effort that had gone into every detail. So much creativity and imagination had been poured into every idea and all the pieces were completely unique. It's amazing seeing how different minds interrupt the same brief and that's one thing I love about design. The exhibition also played the runway shows of each category, something that was more a theatrical performance with different characters acting out their garment surrounded by lights, smoke and dancers. It looks like an amazing show to go and see and it's something I'll definitely be looking into when it next tours the World. We sat in the video room watching the runways alone or at least we thought we were alone. At one point I turned around and almost jumped out of my skin to discover a women's face about 20cm from my own looking at me. It was rather creepy. The exhibition space was also showcasing fancy cars so we walked around admiring these as well. After a quick coffee and a cheese scone in the cafe we headed into Nelson itself. The city centre was horrible to drive in because we are in what feels like such a big van and every hazard possible seemed to be popping up every few metres. People take more risks in a city so I was paranoid someone was just going to pull out into the side of us at any moment. We luckily made it to a carpark in one piece and set off to explore the city. The Victorian garden was our first stop and it highlighted how much the British love a good garden, so much so they made one here when they settled. It was beautiful to walk around with a river running through it and even an oriental Chinese inspired section. After walking down nearly every pathway we headed away from the city and began at 20 minute steep ascent to "the centre of New Zealand". After the quite intense hike we reached the top of the hill which had 360 degree views out over the hills, city and mountains beyond. Reading the information we then discovered this isn't actually the centre of New Zealand as advertised. Nelson as a city is in the centre of New Zealand and this hill top is the centre of Nelson but the actually specific point of the centre of New Zealand isn't here but somewhere else in the city. I think they decided to put it up a huge hill to make people all sweaty and tired so they head straight to get a drink from a shop when they get back down! Even still it was a nice place to sit and admire the surroundings. We also visited Christ Church, which is a little confusing when there is a city called Christchurch. It was a rather disappointing church that was made of concrete and not so nice to look at. After visiting a few shops to get some groceries and other bits we headed to the only decent sounding freedom camping spot in Nelson. It's 3 allocated spaces in the carpark for a park. It got dark quite quickly and I had a horrible time trying to find the toilets in the dark and it actually ended up being quite spooky being in the park. Luckily we have gained 2 other people in the other spots so we aren't so alone here which feels a little safer!En savoir plus
Swinging around Nelson
26 mai 2018, Nouvelle-Zélande ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C
We woke up nice and early today and headed back into the centre of Nelson to visit their Saturday market. We'd heard good things about it so thought it might be a good place to get a few trinkets and souvenirs. Luckily on a Saturday you only have to pay for parking up until 1pm in the major carparks so we paid up until then and headed to the market. It was quite sizeable and sold everything from glassware to fruit and veg. There were lots of stalls selling homemade items which was lovely but it just so happened everything I liked was either too large or quite heavy so I wouldn't have been able to get it back home easily. It was still nice to walk around and I did manage to get some caramelised cashew nuts so that in itself made the trip worthwhile. It was quite a chilly morning so we went and had a coffee to warm up our hands as well as our bellies. After warming up we headed to the town's museum which had some very good reviews online. We paid $5 each to get in and it was such a disappointment. There was no logical order to the information and not anywhere did it even talk about how and when nelson was established. The first section was about a rock and across the other side it talked about boats. It was a shame because we really felt like it would take you on the journey of the area but it just wasn't the case. After spending time reading the mishmash of information we eventually got bored of the randomness of it all and called it a day on the exhibit. The museum did have the show of National Geographic photos of the year but we saw that exhibition in Christchurch so we just decided to leave in the end. Instead we headed to Burger Culture, the only burger joint restaurant in Nelson and one that came highly recommended to us. We arrived at 12pm when it opened and by ten past all the tables were full. It was quite a cool place that even had a free old arcade game you could play on. I had my first burger with macaroni cheese in it, something my sister would probably love. It was an interesting combo but quite enjoyable. It was good food for not a terrible price so we enjoyed our lunch treat very much. Afterwards we decided to get back on the road and head towards the Abel Tasman national park. It's towards the very north of the South Island and although we have no plans of what to do there we felt it was worth a visit. We found a good freedom camping spot on Campermate that has great reviews but fills up quickly so we felt it was best to get there as soon as possible so we don't miss out. The drive was very scenic and after a while we arrived at Motueka and parked up in our camping site. It's right on the beach front so we had a stroll around the shore playing around on a rope swing which had been set up in one of the trees. For the rest of the afternoon we sat in the van playing games with the doors wide open enjoying the sound of the waves and the fresh sea air.En savoir plus
We saw a Tui!
27 mai 2018, Nouvelle-Zélande ⋅ 🌙 7 °C
We had a rather good nights sleep last night but we woke up still without a real plan. We found out that most of the Abel Tasman national park is only accessible by boat unless you are willing to spending a good few days doing the great walk here. We decided to head to the local i-site to get advise from the experts about what is best to do here with our time frame. We spent an hour in total talking to the lovely lady who gave us so much advise, help and general information about the area. After much consideration we have decided to do an eco tour tomorrow by boat of the Abel Tasman national park with a marine biologist guide and the following day we are going on a guided tour of Farewell Spit, a huge natural sand spit at the top of the South Island. It feels good to have some direction to the next few days. That gives us one day to drive down from the area towards Picton to catch the ferry on the 31st. There are water taxis running through the Abel Tasman but with only one running a day in each direction this means you can only visit one bay or two if you have time to walk between the two before the next ferry. We felt we would be worrying so much about making it to the next bay in time for the ferry that the tour seemed like a more relaxed and informative option. Plus we are supporting the maintenance and protection of the national park by booking this tour. Only the other day did the community guided by our tour guide manage to plant 1500 native trees back into the forest to try and restore the native bush. For today we decided to drive up towards Golden Bay to see a few areas of beauty before returning to see Split Apple Rock at low tide. Because we spent so long in the information centre it was only when we came out did I realise I hadn't drunk much water so a headache was beginning to show. We began our drive which ended up being very windy. The road takes you up and over a hill but on a windy route so my head and stomach began to not appreciate the driving and constant changing direction. We did make it to a view point near the top of the hill which is a 5 minutes walk through the forest from the carpark. As we were walking Nick called out in excitement that he'd seen a Tui fly over. Tuis are a native NZ bird that has two white fluffy bits under it's chin and a beautiful sheen to it's feathers. Luckily after a little more looking I managed to see one as well in the trees. It's our first time seeing one so we were pretty excited. The view at the end of the track was rather incredible but seeing a Tui was even better. On the way back we saw a couple more and now know what their weird sounding call sounds like as well to spot them in future. I really wasn't feeling driving much further so we just decided to head back to the rock instead and even that was challenging for my head. After some lunch we walked down to the beach and there it was, a huge round boulder split straight down the middle. We had worn our waterproof shoes so after viewing the rock from the beach we were able to climb over the rocks and in and out of the water to get a closer view from the other side which was pretty cool and something only we seemed able to do. After exploring all the caves and rocks we headed to a shop to get a few packed lunch things for the next few days before going to a powered site for the night. It's meant to be a cold one so we wanted a heater and it was very nice to have a warm shower anyway.En savoir plus
What a beautiful part of the country
28 mai 2018, Nouvelle-Zélande ⋅ 🌙 5 °C
It felt like we'd escaped to some kind of tropical paradise today on our tour of the Abel Tasman. We had to meet at the boat ramp at 8:45am so we had a resonably early start to make sure we were packed up and ready to go on time. Despite being 5 minutes around the corner from the boat ramp we still left 20 minutes early to be on the safe side. Our guide for the day, Stu, turned up driving a tractor with his boat on a trailer behind him. We did have a little wait for a couple and then once we'd set off we doubled back to pick someone else up who he had just been told was coming. It seems people working at the holiday park we stayed at can come on the tour either for free or they must pay later. We were in a group of 6 in the end which was nice and intimate. The tide was completely up to the sea wall but we were told when we would come back it'll be over 500m out to sea. We cruised around the bay and every chance to see wildlife or something of interest we were quickly taken there and told extensive information about it. Stu had a lot of knowledge to share and you could tell marine biology and now conservation of this national park are his passions. We were able to see a flock of gannets feeding which involved them firing down into the water almost like a bullet being fired downwards. They were so incredibly quick that the fish didn't really stand a chance. We spent time exploring small bays and learning about the history of the national park. One bay had a modern house built on the sea shore which was built when the land went up for sale and the government didn't want to buy it to incoorperate it into the park. The man who did buy the land built his dream house but then only two weeks after it was finished he choked on a chip alone in a hotel room in Indonesia and died. Now the house is owned by his widowed wife and is only visited once a year if that. It's crying out to be opened up as an Airbnb! For lunch we parked up in a bay and sat at a picnic bench on the beach. There's many camp grounds on the beach which are sleepover points for anyone doing this great walk through the park. This means we had access to toilets and picnic benches. After lunch we walked twenty minutes through the bush from this bay to the next where Stu picked us up. We saw so many fantails around and even a few of the fully black ones. Every so often on the walk you'd get a window through the trees of the gorgeous view below. The sun was beaming down turning the waters a rich turquoise blue. If it wasn't so cold it would of felt like summer. The pictures definitely look as if we just popped off to a tropical island for the day. We also did a guided walk through the bush with Stu where he showed us many of the native plants and trees he and others are trying to protect and restore. A lot of their work includes pest control and since they began introducing multiple use traps rats are no longer found inside the park which has boosted the native bird population considerably. Unfortunately only a small part of the ocean is a marine national park which means fishing is allowed in other areas outside this zone. The wildlife inside the zone are apparently thriving but policing the fishermen and ensuring this zone stays protected has become a large job. The team also do yearly scuba dive rubbish clean ups of the seabed and collect hundreds of tons of waste what has been dropped into the sea here. They also have a rule where no one is allowed within 20ms of seals which means there's a whole island where no one can go to because fur seals breed and give birth on the rocks surrounding the entire island. Even on the boat we had to stay 20m away. It's good to see active care and concern for wildlife and it's well-being. After a great informative trip we headed back to to where we started and true to his word the tide had considerably gone out. We were scooped up by a tractor and towed from the sea across the sand back to shore. I'm so beyond pleased we did this tour. Walking through the national park would of been cool to do ourselves but you have no concept of anything that's going on around you or know of what work and conservation is happening here today. It was definitely worth spending that extra money to get such an in-depth insight into the Abel Tasman national park.En savoir plus
The top of the South Island
29 mai 2018, Nouvelle-Zélande ⋅ 🌙 6 °C
We spent last night at the beach front freedom camping spot we used a couple of nights ago. Today we went on a tour of Farewell Spit, a huge sand spit at the very top of the South Island. Where we camped was actually 2 and a half hours south of where our tour left from but due to the tides it didn't start until 11.30 so we had plenty of time to make the journey up this morning. Before we left town we went to The Warehouse and finally gave in to the cold and bought sleeping bags. We are so excited to use these tonight! After a rather scenic windy drive we made it to Collingwood and joined 5 other people on a huge 4WD bus ready to hit the sand. We managed to see a tui just before we got on the bus in a nearby tree, now we know what they sound like I expect this will be a common occurrence. Everyone else on the tour was at least double our age and three siblings had come together to celebrate one of the sisters 80th birthday. When she found out it's Nick's birthday on the 1st she was other the moon and we all had to sing as she hugged him. Nick spent a lot of time talking to her brother inbetween our guide telling us things. We stopped firstly at the most northern point of the South Island, Cape Farewell. Rather fortunately the point has a large picturesque arch that has been carved into the rock point by crashing waves. It was a lovely place to just stand and soak in the view and the sound of the waves below. There was even a couple of seals on the rocks sunbathing. After Nick heroically opened the gate again for our bus to leave the area we headed to the spit itself. We discovered that the company we were with are the only ones allowed to drive on the spit except for conversation workers. Also if you are walking from the carpark you can only travel 4km out towards the end of the spit so we were able to travel much further than anyone is allowed to go. As we drove we learnt about all the different birds we passed and we even passed quite a few seals, including a little baby one. A huge tree trunk with branches still attached lay on the sand which apparently had been brought in during the last big storm and now provides some nice shade for the birds. It was quite hard to believe that while on our tour we were higher up than Wellington is on the North Island. I didn't realise the islands overlapped so we were closer to the equator than parts of the North Island above us which was quite hard to get your head around. We had a pit stop at the lighthouse which surprisingly is about 10km inland of the end of the spit. It lies in the most densely tree protected area and is far enough inland to be on quite solid ground. Here they had 3 old light keeper houses that are mainly used by conservation workers now a days. We had tea and cake in one of the houses and ate some of our packed lunch in the sunshine. After we'd all finished we hopped back on the bus and visited one of the sand dunes. We climbed up to the very top which gave you wonderful views of Golden Bay on one side and the sea beyond on the other. The higher vantage point really showed you how narrow but long this naturally formed sand area is. Once at the top there was only one way we had to come down which was almost gliding down the steepest side with sand up to your knees. Nick even ran back up the side somehow to give it another go. He was mighty puffed afterwards though. As we drove back to town we were treated to a glorious full moon rising out over the ocean and by the time we got back the moon was high in the sky and it was pitch black. After saying goodbye to everybody we decided to try and make it to the first freedom camping spot we passed on our way up. It was about a 40 minute drive so we arrived quite late but still managed to get a spot behind a digger. We thoroughly enjoyed today and it just showed to us that age is just a number and you can have a good time with anyone. After all one of the almost 80 year old women we met bungee jumped off the Auckland Sky Tower only last week!En savoir plus
The perk of waking up early
30 mai 2018, Nouvelle-Zélande ⋅ 🌙 5 °C
We had a big day planned for today. Our ferry over to the North Island is tomorrow which meant we needed to be near Picton tonight. There was still a couple of things we wanted to do in the Abel Tasman area so we decided to get up early and get a good head start on the day. Our first stop was to Te Waikoropupu Springs which is a sacred place to the Maori people. We were the only ones there which made the place even more magical. We were so glad we arrived early because there was a beautiful mist layer over the water and you could see down through the crystal clear water to where the water was rising from. Every part of this loop walk felt mesmerising. The rivers and streams around spray out like roots through the forest and the water flows so incredibly fast but it hardly makes a sound. I could really see why the Maori people felt this was a sacred place. They've now also banned anyone from entering the waters or even touching it to respect the tradition of the people. It's definitely the most magical place we have been too and I genuinely felt moved by the atmosphere and feeling here. We made our way back to the van as another car pulled into the car park so it was even nicer to know we had spent the whole experience completely alone. We headed back on the road and drove to Waunui Falls, the other destination we wanted to visit before we leave the area. On route we stopped briefly at a view point and it was amazing to see Farewell Spit in all its entirety. We could just make out the cluster of trees where the lighthouse was where we had lunch yesterday. At the falls we were again the only car in the carpark when we began the walk. It was about an hour and half walk through the forest walking mainly alongside the river up to the waterfalls. With so many palm trees or cabbage trees as they are called here and greeny turquoise waters it did feel we were in a mini tropical paradise. The walk included crossing a swing bridge high above the river which offered some beautiful views of the waters below. We had a few friendly fantails follow us for quite a while trying to get any sandflies we were attracting. Eventually we made it to a very impressive waterfall at the end of the track. Typically as I was taking a photo of Nick I slipped and twisted one ankle which resulted in me falling down and hitting my knee into a rock. Luckily my phone didn't take too much damage in the fall but I grazed and cut my knee quite badly and the walk back was a little challenging. After a bit of first aid it was nice to stand and enjoy the waterfall before turning back. We passed many people on the return trip so again I'm glad we came early and got to experience it all alone. Back at the van and after a quick bite to eat we began the journey of driving towards Picton. I drove the first part towards Nelson and Nick did the second half. Luckily neither of us had headaches so the windy up and down roads didn't affect us too much this time. We had a break in Richmond by Nelson to stock up on some food. Nick's part of the journey took us down a very scenic road along the coast and in and out of the sounds of the top of the South Island. We were lucky enough to get one of 4 spaces available to freedom campers in a bay of one of these sounds. We're about 50 minutes from Picton so we have a little drive in the morning but we're in the closest free camping spot there is to the ferry. The view from the van is amazing and we arrived just as the sun was setting behind the hills. 2 minutes after we arrived another van turned up that had to leave because we'd taken the last spot. Funnily enough the van parked next to us is identical to ours so we both exchanged a lot of smiles when we pulled in and realised. Nick went to the toilet and when he'd been a while I went to see if he was okay to find him holding the toilet door open to let fantails fly in and out to get the bugs inside. At one point 3 were in there flying around catching all the flies. We ended our day with a walk over the rocks with the last of today's light. When we got back to the camper we discovered our house battery hasn't charged while driving as it should so we have no power for lights or our water pump. It'll be interesting trying to make drinks and wash up tomorrow with what little water we have.En savoir plus
See you in a bit South Island
31 mai 2018, Nouvelle-Zélande ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C
Today we waved goodbye temporarily to the island we've called home for 9 months. It's weird to think we haven't left this island for so long yet we've seen, done and experienced so much here. We woke up early this morning to make sure we had plenty of time to get to the ferry. As we drove the sun was rising over the sounds providing some beautiful views and colours in the sky and waters. We arrived in Picton with plenty of time to spare so we used this opportunity to fill up and dump waste from the campervan. Our ferry left at 10:45am but we'd been told to be there at least an hour early. We actually went and checked in at 9:15 and parked the camper in our lane where we left it and headed to the information centre near by. We felt we might as well use this time to get some leaflets for places on the North Island that we will soon be visiting. We were back in the van at 9:45am as instructed but it took an awful long time for anything to actually happen. Many trains of containers were being loaded and unloaded from the downstairs of the ferry. Eventually 40 minutes later the rows of cars started to move and queue up by the ramp to board. We were one of the last rows to go with the other two campervans. Nick did a great job of getting up the ramp without any stalling or need for a hill start. Once we drove on and parked up we headed upstairs to the passenger decks and quickly found where to get coffee from before taking comfy seats at the front of the ferry. It didn't take long for us to set sail and we had a nice view from this area out the side of the boat as well as from the viewing platform outside. For the first hour or so we had a car alarm interrupt the peace by going off every 5 minutes or so. Eventually I think they found the owner over the intercom and got them to disable the alarm. About 45 minutes in the crew in our area announced that there were dolphins outside. Myself and many others rushed out and you could see a pod of 30 or so all jumping in and out of the water. Nick was able to see it through the side window while I was outside taking photos. It was pretty awesome to see and afterwards when I came back in we both saw a little seal cruising alongside us on it's back as well. Eventually after a few hours we were told to head back to our cars as we docked. Once safely off the ferry we had fun trying to navigate Wellingtons highways to get on the correct one that would take us to our airbnb that we've booked for Nick's birthday. We made it in on piece and after executing a perfect reverse park onto a very steep driveway we unpacked our things into our mini flat. It's got all we need and many comforts we have been missing. The bathroom even has a bath, something we haven't had access to in about a year. We made pizzas for tea and enjoyed relaxing in a comfy bed watching films on Netflix. The best part is that it's a bed we haven't had to construct first. We are both very much looking forward to sleeping in a proper bed after almost a month and a half of thin foam cushions.En savoir plus
Birthday celebrations
1 juin 2018, Nouvelle-Zélande ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C
Nick's 29 today! It's sad to say that we've actually gotten use to sleeping in our little van and although the bed here is super comfy we both didn't sleep too well. I think it takes a while to get use to a bed so suddenly changing didn't agree with us too much. After I made us a birthday worthy breakfast of beans and poached eggs on toast Nick had the task of opening all his presents. He was blown away to discover that I'd written out cards for him to open on my family's behalf. He was so touched by this gesture and much like last year amazed I'd managed to get so many presents behind his back. It a amazing what you can do with the 1 minute someone spends in the toilet. Gift shops do really have their limitations on useful nice gifts. We took our time to get ready before heading into the capital city for the day. Nick had chosen to visit the Te Papa museum in Wellington which has been ranked one of the top 500 things to do in the world. We parked in a carpark that gave us all day parking for $14 and convienniently wasn't too far from the museum, something we really appreciated seeing as it was raining. We put our bags in the cloak room and after talking to an assistant headed into an exhibition they were currently showing on the battle of Gallipoli. Many kiwis fought in the 8 month long battle so it was very relevant to the country. The museum had collaborated with Weta Workshop, the company that made the LOTR and The Hobbit film's props, costumes and make-up. The company had produced huge 2.5 times life sized wax work models of real people involved in the war. The sculptures were incredible and the attention to detail like nothing I'd seen before. You could see every pore, hair, even sweat droplet on each model and it must of taken the company so incredibly long to produce. You then walked through into an area that talked about the story of the person who the model was based on. We spent so long in this one exhibition without once feeling like it was getting boring or too much information. It is hands down the best laid out and enjoyable museum exhibition I've been too where you want nothing more than to keep reading. We did reach a point where our bellies began to rumble so we headed to the cafe for a lovely bit of lunch. After some food we explored another area of the museum about the native and introduced species of New Zealand. This was a permanent exhibit and although it was interesting it was nowhere near as engaging as the Gallipoli one. We eventually felt we'd filled our brains with enough information for one day and walked into what appeared to be the main shopping area for an early birthday dinner at Nandos. Of course it had to be Nandos for a special occasion. We very much enjoyed having meat for the first time in a while but definitely ate way too much food as usual. We had planned to visit somewhere with Wi-Fi for Nick to use but the rain had picked up a bit so we just decided to head back before rush hour kicked in and it got too cold. We watched another brilliant film on Netflix and that ended Nick's second birthday abroad. I do wonder if I'll be having to sneak around to buy presents in a foreign country for the third time in a row. There's such a huge part of us that wants to keep travelling and working around the world but there's an equally big part that longs to be home in a routine, building a life with people we love not an 11 hour time difference away. For now we will keep doing it as we are enjoying it until the pull of going home becomes too much. We'll just have to wait and see if Nick ends up having his 30th birthday abroad.En savoir plus
A lovely hot day
2 juin 2018, Nouvelle-Zélande ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C
Today we had to pack up and wave goodbye to our lovely little airbnb escape. It's been nice having a bit of luxury after so many nights in the campervan but it did remind us how annoyingly restricted being in booked accommodation can be. With the campervan we can go wherever we like, stay as long as we like and just up and leave whenever we've had enough of a place. After packing the van back up we headed back into the city to the same carpark we parked in yesterday. Our plan for today was to make the most of the nice weather and just explore the capital a bit. We had a stroll around the shops and a quick morning coffee before venturing to the Wellington cable car. It's more like a tram that goes up hill but it does provide quite a direct link to the centre from the suburbs. The journey was only 5 minutes long and passed through a few tunnels which have been illuminated with rainbow LED lights which made quite a nice light show as you passed through each one. It stops in the botanical gardens and gave us a lovely view over the city below. We decided that although we'd bought return tickets it'd be nicer to do a walk around the gardens and walk back into the city, especially when the route is downhill. We sat and ate lunch near the rockery garden where they had a lavender plant that was attracting lots of monarch butterflies. It's hard to believe it's autumn with such summery looking butterflies around. We continued to wonder through the gardens after lunch and it wasn't too long before we'd made it out onto the road. Initially we just started walking too engrossed in conversation but we soon realised we didn't actually know where we were. With a bit of help from Google we made it to the parliament buildings. The building on the right is very grand and lovely to look at. Unfortunately this theme doesn't continue and at the end of the row on the left is the building called the Beehive. I have no idea why they chose to make it out of concrete rather than the same stone as the other buildings but it did look awful and very much like a 1960s office block. We meandered around town and eventually made it to the waterfront which was a hub of activity and offered some lovely harbour views. We shared a gingernut gelato ice cream which was rather refreshing. I've developed a bit of an obsession with ginger flavoured things since being here. The water wasn't the cleanest near the habour walls so it was interesting to see some teenage girls choosing to jump into the water with rubbish floating around. Eventually we were back at the van and after much research on Campermate booked ourselves into a campsite in Lower Hutt just north of the city centre for the night. We managed to navigate the cities complicated lanes and got to the site in good time. Then came the time to plug in our camper and this is when we discovered we so really do have a problem with the house battery. It hadn't charged when we drove to Picton but it turns out it is refusing to charge even when plugged in. The inverter is just flashing random numbers and it did briefly show up a fault code which means the cells are faulty. Annoyingly as well we discovered this only 20 minutes after the office for our rental company had closed so we can't phone up about it until tomorrow. At least we are in the capital of the country so we should have the most options for places to get it looked at and fixed. For now we are lucky that we have a communal kitchen to use so it's only the lights we are missing but we do have two torches. Hopefully tomorrow we can ring up and it won't be too long before it can be looked at. Something was bound to go wrong eventually when you have the campervan for 3 months!En savoir plus
A rather unhealthy day
3 juin 2018, Nouvelle-Zélande ⋅ 🌧 11 °C
So we woke up this morning and after having showers and getting ready for the day Nick rung the campervan hire company to let them know about the battery not charging. Unfortunately this weekend is a bank holiday weekend so we won't be able to get anything done until Tuesday. Why New Zealand have a bank holiday for the Queen's birthday when we don't is a mystery. We've been asked to stay in a powered site for this time and the company will reimburse us for one of the nights of this stay. We've just decided to stay at the same campsite because it was the best around and it saves us moving too far away when their seems to be quite a few repair places in Lower Hutt. It's a little annoying that it had to happened now but at least we are near the capital of the country so there's lots around for us to do. Nick's been longing to see the new Advengers film so we thought we'd have a bit of a chilled out non touristy day today and watch it. We headed to a town 30 minutes away so that we didn't have to pay for parking like we would of had to for the cinemas in Wellington itself. We struggled for a while to actually find the carpark for the cinema and after driving around the whole block we eventually found a ramp that lead up to the best place to park. We then faced the issue of it having a 2 hour parking limit so Nick went in a found the information desk and she took our registration and reassured us it would be fine if we were using the cinema. After buying our tickets we had some time to kill so we went to Kmart to exchange a jumper I bought and to New World to get some cinema worthy snacks. It wasn't long before we were making our way back to the cinema and it had got rather busy for the showing which was surprising seeing as the film has been out for quite a while. I passed a boy aged about 6 dressed as the hulk in the toilets and he did a rather impressive arm muscle tense complete with a growl when he saw me. The film was really good although I haven't watched all the Marvel films so I didn't get all the jokes or know who some people actually were to start with. Luckily it felt rather independent as a film so it didn't matter too much. After the film we went to deal with the fact that one of our headlight and break light bulbs had blown and needed replacing. We went to a Supercheap Auto near by and after almost an hour in the carpark it was determined that our headlight isn't wired correctly and needed an auto electrician to look at it. This felt like a huge blow and just another thing to add to the list of things that needed sorted. We both felt a bit disheartened so we decided that we needed some treat food in our lives to cheer us up. When we found out the local Pak'n'save didn't do the nice homemade pizzas other branches do it was yet another disappointment. We were determined to have pizza though and instead went and got a takeaway from a place in Lower Hutt. Two huge pizzas with free garlic bread and chicken strips. So much food! We've got quite a lot left over to have for breakfast and we spent the rest of the evening watching TV in the TV room until we got interrupted by a family with 3 children under 8 coming in, all of which were drinking full fat coke and eating sweets at 9:30pm! They moaned so much to their parents that it wasn't cartoons on the TV that in the end we left once our programme had almost finished anyway. As nice as it was to do something non touristy it did end up making us wonder why we're here doing this so I'm looking forward to getting back into tourist mode tomorrow and seeing more of this country.En savoir plus
The world of the Weta Workshop
4 juin 2018, Nouvelle-Zélande ⋅ 🌧 12 °C
It's bank holiday Monday today so we still have one day to wait until we can get our campervan fixed. We decided to use the day to visit the Weta Workshop. Weta made the props, costumes, make up and many other things for the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit films. They also have another company called Weta Digital who work on the visual effects and this side of the company createe films as big as Avatar. We initially just looked around the small museum and gift shop but soon realised we wanted to do one of the tours of the workshop. We opted for the shortest workshop only tour and managed to get a spot on the 1:30pm tour. We had our lunch sat outside under 3 huge troll figures. It was quite entertaining to see a family arrive with two golden retrievers and when one saw the troll it went into complete defensive mode and started barking at it like crazy. The detail on models was amazing. Our time came to go on our tour and we were allowed to enter a curtained off area of the workshop. The guide was one of the painters who work here and he had a great funny attitude and made everything very enjoyable. Initially you see all the films the company has worked on and it's actually a lot more than you realise especially when all the pieces they make are so detailed. Most of the armour for LOTR is made from a sturdy plastic that's been shaped in a mould so it isn't too heavy for the actor to wear. They do create real armor and weapons to be used for more close up shots. How cool is the guy who makes swords for films for a living! They had a room showing the stages of making the armour for the dwaves in the Hobbit. 1000s of individual pieces were made and all hand painted to then be shown to the director who turned around twice asking for them to be repainted with more blue and then more red. How painstaking that must be! It did make me realise that it would be a pretty awesome job to be one of these painters and it might be something I look into more when we're back home. I think Nick was just in awe of the whole place and would love to work in any aspect of it. It is amazing to discover that most of the metallic items for films is actually painted plastic. You'd never realise it wasn't metal. We also saw one of the heads from the models made for the Gallipoli exhibition we visited. Every pour and hair was individually created on those models and he said that the hair alone on just one model took about 6 weeks to complete. 6 weeks of inserting single hairs into silicone with a needle! Unfortunately as the items are owned by the film makers we were not allowed to take photos but the company managed to negotiate with the Hobbit directors to allow tours to take photos with a model of Azog the Defiler which Nick really got into character for. Overall the tour lasted 45 minutes and it was definitely worth it. Afterwards we headed down to the South of Wellington to do a coastal walk along the bottom of the North Island. It was a slight shame that the walkway is also open for 4WD vehicles to drive along it. It would be okay if they stuck to the path but many ventured onto the beach where possible. The area had a black sand which was so thick in places that after a while we had a small beach in each of our shoes! We did have a very nice walk though and ended up walking for about 2 and a half hours before turning back. On the way we passed some naturally red coloured rocks in the sea and a small seal colony. Just after the seals there's an area of the driving track that climbs up and over a very steep open rock face. It has a huge dip in it so we heard many trucks smash and clunk and probably loose parts of their car trying to climb over it. One truck went so fast over it that it nose dived into the dip and I'm sure some of its bumper probably cracked off. It's mad that people do it but some people find it fun and if the council didn't provide an area where they could do it I imagined they'd find other areas of natural beauty to race around on instead. At least this way it's more controlled. On our way back I spotted a highlighter on the beach, a highlighter! I then decided to pick up rubbish and it wasn't long before we found a blue piece of plastic we could tie into a bag to use. By the time we'd got back to the carpark it was dark but we'd collect a whole bag full of rubbish including a nasal inhaler, ear plug, three pieces of painted wood and so much more. It did feel good to put all this rubbish in the bin so it wouldn't get washed back out to sea. We plan to buy gloves or tongs to take around with us so we can pick up more rubbish. Our new slogan is: Leave only footprints, take only photos... and rubbish!En savoir plus
Our van is fixed!
5 juin 2018, Nouvelle-Zélande ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C
We woke up today optimistic that we'd be getting our van fixed up and back on the road. Knowing that it had been bank holiday we were worried that garages would be quite busy today so we made sure we were packed up and ready to go by 9ish. I rung the rental company who found somewhere in Lower Hutt near where we've been staying that they wanted us to take it to within the hour. It wasn't too far away so after dropping it off there we were told to come back in an hour and were pointed in the direction of the nearest coffee shop. It was a nice cafe that did good coffee but it was so small and busy that we felt we couldn't sit and occupy a table for an hour without buying lots of drinks. After one coffee each we discovered there was a shopping centre near by so we thought we'd have a walk around to kill some time and free up a table for someone else. Eventually the hour was up and we headed back to discover that the battery had been replaced and the new one is charging when plugged in and when the van drives. The rental company had already paid for it as well so that was another great help. Once we'd left the garage Nick phoned up many auto electricians to see if we could get our lights sorted. We managed to get a slot at 2pm for a garage nearby so we took the opportunity inbetween to do some food shopping. When 2pm came the garage didn't have a high enough roof for our van so I had to drive in as far as I could and luckily it was far enough to leave some pavement space behind us. It took about 45 minutes for the guy to fix the headlight and get the indicator light bulb replaced and finally we have a fixed up van and we can now move on out of Wellington. We made our way north along the west coast and stopped at Raumati Beach. It wasn't much of a beach, more like rocks on the sea shore but it was nice to be out of the city and enjoying the scenery once again. We did find a beach in the end next to Queen Elizabeth Park so we spent some time walking along the sand. It was recommended that we charged up our new battery at a powered site so we located the one with best reviews on Campermate and headed there. It seemed to be a Christian community and all the facilities were clean which is the main thing. We made the most of having an oven and made homemade pizzas while we got some washing done. We met a man called Barry in the kitchen who is in his 60s. He got talking to Nick quite a lot and opened up that he'd recently inherited 43 thousand dollars from his mum passing, a mum he didn't seem to know it seemed. Sadly he owns nothing but the tent, clothes and bike he's been travelling with and has no idea where to go in life with this money. Nick spent time talking to him about different ways he could use the money and also recommend going to get some advice on the renting and property market. He seemed eternally grateful to Nick for spending the time to talk to him. Nick passed along his email and phone number only to find out that Barry doesn't have a phone or an email address but has promised to message if he ever gets either. After showers we spent the evening playing games and looking into where our newly fixed van will take us next.En savoir plus
Making up for lost time
6 juin 2018, Nouvelle-Zélande ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C
It felt very good to wake up today knowing we had a functioning camper once again. It's lucky we're travelling so long because it did mean we had to stay in Wellington for longer than we had initially planned. After packing up the van and saying goodbye and good luck to Barry we left the campsite and carried on driving north. The North Island is a lot wider than the South and there's things to do on both coasts and the centre so we're not too sure how we will drive around it yet to fit the most in we can. For now we know we want to visit Mt. Taranaki which is further up the west coast so our current plan is to make our way up there and stop off on the way. One town we wanted to visit was Whanganui so that's where we headed today. Nick had heard good things about the museum and after a couple of trips around the block to actually find it we then discovered it's currently closed while they do work to make the building earthquake proof. We weren't too sure what else to do here so we decided the best thing to do when you're not sure is have a lovely New Zealand pie. We headed to the local bakery where some coffee art wizard works who managed to create a little pig on Nick's coffee and really put my previous work to shame! Our parking allowed us a couple of hours to wonder around the town which had some very attractive buildings. Historic buildings are one thing you really miss seeing when you're from a country with so much history visiting such a young country in comparison. Near the river we found an art gallery so to escape the rain we thought we'd have a look around. You could really tell it was not a very well funded gallery and the pieces that they had on show were rather unusual and we weren't really impressed by any of them sadly. One girl had created lots of white and gold ceramic moths which did show a lot of skill so it wasn't all disappointing. We spent time in the i-site which was also here collecting many leaflets on areas up north and using the Wi-Fi to look into other bits and bobs. It soon came time to move the van and seeing as there wasn't much else to do here and discovering that high winds and bad weather was sweeping through the area we decided to do an afternoon of driving to take us up to New Plymouth. You really could feel the wind against the van as we drove. Our freedom camping spot for the night is a carpark near the beach just outside of town. We arrived just in time for sunset which turned all the clouds from grey to lovely pastel colours. Although it hasn't been a very exciting day it feels good to have made it quite far up the coast. Staying in Wellington did take up extra days so we managed to catch up a little today. Unfortunately there's a few cars hanging around the carpark with young people in so I'm hoping we don't get disturbed too much tonight. Tomorrow we plan to head around the area to see and explore the huge Mt. Taranaki that is just south of New Plymouth. Hopefully the weather passes through quickly and doesn't head up north.En savoir plus
Having a go at a bit of rock climbing
7 juin 2018, Nouvelle-Zélande ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C
So the carpark we slept in last night ended up being used by a group of teenagers to hang around in until 5am this morning. It didn't keep Nick up but I found it quite intimidating hearing them especially when they were with a car as well. They did honk their horn a few times. The only saving grace was that the waves there were very noisy so this did help muffle the sound of them a little. I really didn't sleep much so I was very very tired this morning and didn't want to get out of bed. A coffee was definitely in order. We wanted to visit the i-site quickly before hand but it turned out that the one in New Plymouth is attached to the museum and a lovely cafe. We made the most of the opportunity and after a caffine hit we had a look around an exhibition about dinosaurs and New Zealand's history and nature. We only stayed a couple of hours because my sleepy brain wasn't loving reading so much information. I did enjoy joining in with the little kids and using a brush to uncover fossils and dinosaur skeletons though. We left and headed out towards the coast to a huge rock called Paritutu Rock by the edge of the sea that was created when Mt. Taranaki first erupted thousands of years ago. It's 154m high and to climb it firstly involves steps then a rock climb up the face with a chain handrail for guidance and support. It was quite a challenging climb but very exciting at the same time to be doing such a different "walk" to our usual trips. We passed a girl half way up who was petrified of heights and waiting for her boyfriend who had left her there to carry on up to the top. We felt so sorry for her and in hind sight we wished we'd offered to help her get down to at least the steps so she wasn't so on the rock face. Really her boyfriend should of done that instead of leaving her! At the top of the rock you are rewarded with beautiful views of the ocean and bays below. When it's clear you can see the volcano inland but unfortunately it was quite a cloudy day so we didn't get see it just yet. The descent down was a little harder but luckily you have that chain you can hold on for support as your foot reaches down to find the next foot hole. Safely back on the ground we rewarded ourselves to a well deserved cup of tea before heading off again. As I was feeling very tired we decided to book into an actual campsite to guarantee a better nights sleep. We found one out of town by the beach that had some pretty good reviews and was well priced. It had all the facilities we needed and the only downside was you had to pay for showers but at 10c a minute it's hardly anything. We also got to experience the most gorgeous sunset I think we've seen so far. The colours were incredible and we were so engrossed in a game of boggle we almost didn't even realise it was happening. I rushed outside with my phone and started clicking away on the camera to try and capture the amazing sight. The colours lasted for at least an hour as we made tea in the communal kitchen. There's so many amazing things to be seen here and around the world that sometimes you forget how incredible a sunset, something that happens everyday, can be.En savoir plus
A day of spectacular Taranaki views
8 juin 2018, Nouvelle-Zélande ⋅ 🌙 2 °C
We had hoped to do a hike up to the Pouakai Tarns near Mt. Taranaki today which is a small pond up on a hill that offers amazing reflective views of the volcano. Unfortunately the weather was predicted to be quite cloudy so we didn't want to risk doing the walk and not being able to see anything so instead we have decided to stay in the area for another night because the weather is meant to be really clear tomorrow. Instead we decided to explore a few places around the coast that surrounds the mountain. We headed first to Cape Egmont lighthouse which is on the west coast in relation to the volcano. Surprisingly the lighthouse was about 500m in land and you had to walk through someone's property to access it. You couldn't walk up it but it did give us a great view of Mt. Taranaki. The more we looked we did wonder if we should of done the walk today but knowing it's about a 5-6 hour return walk by the time you get up there the cloud that was predicted could of really swept in. The wind by the coast here was so strong that it just confirmed how quickly the weather front was moving. After battling with the wind to get back into the van we drove to Lake Mangamahoe and had some lunch before we began to walk the circuit route around the lake. Within a few minutes the track went up to a view point that gave us some pretty amazing views of Taranaki and the lake below. Unfortunately after passing the dam the rest of the lake circuit walk barely showed us the lake at all which was a little disappointing. The walk wasn't too interesting until we reached a section of the forest made up of huge redwood trees. It's the first time we have seen redwood trees before and their size was insane. It was such a cool section of forest to explore. They'd obviously been planted here but the reserve had a sign saying they plan to let them continue to grow and will not have them cut down as was originally planned when they were planted years ago. Soon after the walk reached the end of the lake near where the road is the rest of the track is down the road we came in on. Luckily it is more exposed so we got some lovely views of the lake and the mountain as we returned back to the van. We headed to our amazing freedom camping site at the base of Taranaki in the information centre carpark for the night. The view we have from the van is amazing and we are so excited to be hiking up towards the volcano tomorrow. We plan to wake up nice and early to get a good start on the walk as there is limited parking and cloud is predicted at about 1pm. We've had a few people come into the carpark in fast cars and utes and drive over the sections of plants around the parking and generally being idiots. I think it's because the road is 16km up to the centre and is very windy so it's probably "fun" to drive it fast. Hopefully that's all the issues we will have tonight and no one else will come from now on!En savoir plus
So many steps!
9 juin 2018, Nouvelle-Zélande ⋅ ⛅ 5 °C
As you can see from the photo of Nick we did not enjoy our early morning wake up. It was so cold this morning and really tough to get out of our warm sleeping bags. I'm actually very surprised that we managed to get ready and arrive at the start of the track by 8:30am. There were quite a lot of cars already parked down the sides of the road and you did feel sorry for the residents who have to tolerate this. Luckily we are not a massive van because the road wasn't very wide so it would of been very hard to negotiate and park if we had been. We soon set off on the path into the forest and began to climb what felt like a never ending staircase. Rather kindly the track has now been covered in wooden steps as the ground is so boggy below but this did mean the whole route was step after step after step. There was also no end to the forest in sight so we had no indication how long this would go on for or how high we'd climbed. We just kept putting one foot in front of the other knowing that it would be worth it in the long run. We knew it was about 2 and a half hours to the first hut on the track so we were hopeful that it wouldn't be steps the whole way up to that point. Unfortunately it pretty much was. The last 20 minutes or so saw us reach the top of the forest and we got our first views of just how high up above the clouds we now were. We did have a nice flatter section here that involved climbing over many rocks and tree roots before one last ascent to the hut. The temperature had dropped quite a lot up here and ice covered the wooden slats. We were rewarded to pretty lovely views from the hut once we made the last steep climb. After a much needed toilet stop and snack we pushed on for the last 15 minutes to the tarns. Taranaki was in full view as we came up over the ridge just beyond the hut and began descending down the other side to get to the small pond where everyone wants to get a photo. It was incredibly icy here with a few frozen over puddles as well. The surrounding bush was so overgrown you could barely see the steps down and Nick did take a little slip at one point. Eventually we made it to the best view in town and even with the ice on the pond it looked breathtaking. We were probably no closer or potentially further away from the volcano than we were last night where we camped but the clear blue skies and icy reflections meant that it didn't matter. It was a challenging climb and we were very sweaty afterwards but it was 100% worth it. Even the early morning was feeling more and more worth it as we saw cloud start to roll in before we descended. On the way down we reached about half way and both overwhelmingly needed to go to the toilet. This meant we raced down the steps pretty much and it's only when you're willing for the end of the staircase do you realise how high you actually climbed. I'm so plesed we have a toilet on board because we both wouldn't of made it driving into town. After a well deserved tea and biscuits back at the van we headed into New Plymouth to stock up on food, petrol and new walking boots for Nick seeing as the sole of his decided to half come off during our walk. We had planned to stay in a freedom camping spot along the coast but after 5 minutes of arriving there were young people riding motorbikes over the grass and we had two suspicious cars drive in very quickly and out again. It all felt very hostile and we got the same impression back at the other carpark we went to two nights ago. In the end we decided after such an intense day we really wanted a good night's sleep so we drove down the Stratford and stayed at a campsite. The amenities are hotel standard and the showers are hands down the best shower I think I've ever had in my entire life! The woman also accidentally gave us a discount and felt she couldn't go back on it so we pretty much got the Wi-Fi voucher we also purchased for free. Sometimes you just have to take the hit of paying for a campsite when you're so in need of a good night's sleep and a shower after a days hike.En savoir plus
Travelling the Forgotten Highway
10 juin 2018, Nouvelle-Zélande ⋅ ☁️ 2 °C
Today we set out on the mammoth drive down the Forgotten Highway inland towards the Tongariro National Park. I'm not sure why it's called the Forgotten Highway, it may just be less used than other routes that have been created since. We didn't pass many other cars so it does seem that way. We had a slight detour at the start because work is being done on a bridge but luckily it wasn't too much of an issue to get around. Pretty quickly we began to climb up a road that hugged the hill side and got some lovely views of the rolling hills with Taranaki in the faint distance. The hilly landscape with luscious green grass felt as if we were entering into the Shire. It's crazy to think that before European settlers came this whole area would have been covered in native bush. Most of the highway ran alongside an old railway line that was used back in the day. The road took us up and down hills with every twist and bend giving us another great view of the farmland and forests. At one point I saw two parrot like birds fly across our path and land in a tree. I double backed to show Nick but unfortunately they flew off before we got there. I'm not totally sure he believes what I saw now! One hill must of proved too hard to build a road up and down because we had to drive through a 3m by 4.5m tunnel. It was rather narrow and very old fashioned looking but that added to the charm of the whole experience. There was a section of gravel road about 16km long through gorgeous rainforest. Although the road had a few potholes it definitely wasn't a bad gravel road to drive on. Lichen covered a lot of the worn fence posts to all the farms we passed which did add to the whole "forgotten" concept. Maybe that's how it did get it's name but who knows. All we know is it was a very long drive but we thoroughly enjoyed it. We eventually made it to the town of Taumarunui at the other end of the highway stretch. We weren't totally sure what there is to do around here so after grabbing a couple of coffees we visited the i-site for some inspiration. We had parked in a campervan designated carpark but the area and the whole town had an unfriendly dodgey vibe to it so we made sure we were back at the van quickly which I'm glad about because when we returned we noticed broken car window glass on the floor from a previous vehicle. Unfortunately the weather for the next week is looking pretty bad so the information centre recommended doing an early morning walk before the rain set in. I'm not sure either of us are fancying that after such a long drive today so instead we might just head up to Taupo and rely on Campermate to tell us when there's a stop worth making. For tonight we are staying in a DOC paid campsite in the bush. Hedges and greenery surround each available bay so it's a nice and private which is good. We're pretty close to Mount Doom, aka Mount Ngauruhoe, here so hopefully we can see more of that in the sunlight tomorrow. The Tongariro Alpine Crossing great day walk is in this national park near by and is meant to be the best day hike in NZ. It's only now doable with a guide because of the weather and is apparently very icy and covered in snow. Because of the weather I think we will add that to the list of things to do in summer. It'd be a shame to so a whole day hike and everything there is to see is blocked from view because you're inside a cloud!En savoir plus
Being denied entry into Mordor
11 juin 2018, Nouvelle-Zélande ⋅ 🌧 10 °C
We woke up to a pretty gloomy looking day. After our morning routine and getting ready we set off to enjoy some more of NZ. On Campermate we discovered that two film locations for the LOTR happen to be on the next road from our campsite. One is where Gollum strangles Sam near Mordor and the second is a stream by a waterfall where Gollum sings a song while eating a fish from the river. We decided to drive up to the Mordor setting first because the cloud was rolling in thick and fast and already part of Mt. Doom (Mt. Ngauruhoe) in the distance was covered. On the app we were advised we could park in the ski resort at the very end of the road and then walk to the left of the chair lift up the hill for 15 minutes to get amazing views of the Mordor setting. We did as advised however when we got to the chair lift we discovered automated barriers. We asked the gentlemen if we could go through up to see the film location over the ridge and he wasn't too sure but did say we needed to get a sight seeing pass. We headed to the ticket office only to discover a pass is $35 each. This included a chair lift ride, something we asked if we didn't have to do but there was no option for a cheaper pass. We got the impression even if we bought this we'd only be allowed to head up the chair lift and explore up the top area and not walk around where we wanted to anyway. In the end we decided it wasn't worth the money especially because it was getting more cloudy by the minute so we left disappointed and heading back down the hill. At least the drive up there was very impressive especially with all the snow on the volcanoes. Back towards the start of the road we did the 15 minute return walk to Tawhai Falls, now known as Gollums Pool. The waterfall was very picturesque and almost postcard like. It did some what make up for our failed attempt to go to Mordor. As we plan to come back here in summer I'm hoping we can explore a little bit more and hopefully when the ski field is closed we will be able to get to the area we wanted to go to. It seems other people achieved it in summer so I'm optimistic we can too. After leaving the falls we began our drive towards Taupo stopping on the way at the site where once stood a Maori village on Lake Rotoaira. Although there wasn't much of a village left it gave us beautiful views of the lake and volcanoes beyond. We've also never seen so many black swans together before as we did here. Back on the road our journey eventually took us to the bottom of Lake Taupo. The town of Taupo is nearer to top of the lake so we had a picturesque drive as we made our way up there. It was a shame that it had become so cloudy as I'm sure we would of been able to see so much more if it wasn't. After some lunch in a cafe and visiting the i-site we visited the Huka Falls, the most turquoise powerful waterfall I think I've ever seen. The water was moving at such an incredible speed that the sound, vibration and sight just mesmirised you. Although it's a tiny waterfall in height it was one of the more impressive ones we've seen for other reasons. We spent quite a bit of time just enjoying it and walking around to see it from all angles. It's predicted to be a pretty windy night tonight so we've booked into a powered site and spent the evening doing laundry and cooking in the kitchen. We had an issue with the dryer but luckily the man in reception paid for it to go on again which was very nice of him. We're parked under a huge tree so I'm hoping it doesn't get too windy tonight but we shall see!En savoir plus
Entering the geothermal world
12 juin 2018, Nouvelle-Zélande ⋅ 🌧 11 °C
New Zealand offers so much in terms of geography and today we entered the weird and wonderful geothermic part of this country. We headed to a place called Orakei Korako which is a geothermic site that includes one of the only two caves in the world formed by geothermic activity. The other cave is in Italy. We were the first to arrive to the park and initially got a bit of a weird vibe when we entered the centre with the 4 people in there not really making any effort with us which left us wondering who actually worked here. Plus one had a dog with them so it was all a little strange. We managed to order some coffees and get our tickets and it wasn't long before we headed over the river on a little boat to the site. Nick asked the boat driver if he knew much about the history of the area to which the guy just replied "yep" and didn't continue so that was quite awkward. Luckily it was a short boat ride and then we were left to do the self guided walk in our own time which we were quite pleased about given our reception. We had about 10 minutes before the next car arrived so it was nice to have the place to ourselves even if it wasn't for too long. The landscape was insane with steam rising from the most random of places. Lots of different coloured algae grow on the rocks so there was a whole rainbow of hues going on. We did get the odd waft of sulphur but it wasn't as overpowering as I thought it would be. They had a couple of geysers but we weren't lucky enough to see the main one errupt. Apparently it happens every 2 to 3 hours but also somedays not at all so we did wait for a little while but decided to just carry on our walk and return later to see if anything had changed. The build up and layers of silica and algae look like they are slowly melting down into the river and taking back the landscape. Signs were beginning to be swallowed up in their path and it's then even more impressive to realise that this isn't lava or molten rock building up but simply minerals in the water itself. It just shows what a high content of minerals there must be here. We entered areas aptly named Artist's Palette where a huge area was a mass swirl of amazing colours around so many craters and pools and Devil's Hole where steam continuously rises and water spits from a small hole in the rock. In the bush they also have random spots of steam rising and we saw more of this as we headed up the track to the cave. It was a mighty impressive cave especially because it was formed by boiling water and steam. The site also had thick mud pools bubbling away like something in a witch's cauldron. We spent almost 2 and half hours exploring which is crazy when people who arrived after us left long before we did. After our boat ride back over we headed back towards Taupo. We wanted to experience this geothermal activity more so we visited the Wairakei Terraces and Hot Pools. This area use to have natural thermal terraces but unfortunately they were buried during a volcanic eruption. This site has made artificial ones initially and then have directed the geothermic water to flow over the terraces and now over the 8 years or so they have been opened a large layer of silica has built up on the rocks so it is creating the original effect in some way. I don't think we've ever been more okay with it raining outside. When you're sat in 35-42 degree water the rain falling down is actually quite nice. The pool right at the top terrace was the hottest at 42 degrees and after ten minutes or so you did have to move into one of the lower pools. We spent quite a while talking to a couple in their 60s from the USA about their time here and ours. As lovely as it was to talk to them it was nice when they moved on so we could just sit back, relax and wash away the day. Once we resembled prunes we decided to get out and it was after talking to the man in reception that we discovered that here in Taupo they use 90% of the steam that rises to convert into electricity which I think is brilliant. Our freedom camping spot for the night is right on Lake Taupo. It's a shame it's so cloudy so we don't have much of a view but I'm so happy to not be under a tree tonight that it doesn't matter. The tree last night showered us in sticks during the 35km winds we had so I didn't get much sleep at all. To say I'm looking forward to bed is a huge understatement!En savoir plus
Treating myself at the glass workshop
13 juin 2018, Nouvelle-Zélande ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C
Yesterday the couple we spoke to at the thermal pools told us about a glass blowing place nearby called Lava Glass that they visited. When we left Taupo today heading towards Rotorua, our next stop, Nick happened to spot the glass place as we were driving and decided to pull in. Unfortunately they are currently using the low season as an opportunity to refit the cafe and install new ventilation in the workshop so we were unable to go on one of the demonstrations they usually offer. This did however mean they let us enter the gardens for free to have a look around at the pieces out there. The colours were beautiful against the greens of the garden plants and when light shone through some of the pieces it really did transform into quite a magical place. They had glass flowers, balls that reminded me of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and even small forest scenes trapped inside a glass snow globe style shape. After exploring the artwork outside we returned back inside to the shop where I had been admiring a few vases. We then spent about an hour looking at all the ones they had after I'd decided I wanted to buy one. I saw one I liked but felt it needed something else added to it. This lead us and the assistant on a journey from talking about commissioned pieces to even seeing works that were still in progress until eventually after realising how hard it is to control the outcome of the pieces I fell in love with the first one I was drawn to. Nick also really likes it so that is bonus seeing as he will have to see it everyday. Although it was a lot of money the level of skill that has been used is truly beautiful. It's inspiration was also the Huka Falls which we visited the other day so that makes it even more special. Every time I look at the photo of it and see how by some pure chance they managed to get those two bands of detail twisting around each other I just love it even more. It's been wrapped up in two layers of bubble wrap, cardboard, a bag, a dressing gown and put into a cardboard box with a cushion to protect it on our journey around NZ. I'm so very pleased I bought it and we will have this truly unique souvenir of our time here. We plan to return to the studio in summer to see the glass blowing demonstration once they are up and running again. After driving up north we made it to Rotorua and with no real plan we just headed to the lake front to explore. We strolled along the waters edge and eventually made it to a Maori village which had some beautiful Maori artwork on the buildings. Steam was rising from the lake and other areas around the site which gave it a very mysterious feeling. Unlike our last encounter with geothermic steam this really smelled strongly of sulphur. The whole town has a slight odour to it. After a little search on Campermate while we ate tea and biscuits I found a good deal on a powered site with free wifi included. We headed to the site quite early to do some research but we actually managed to get a lot of help from the receptionist instead. She gave us advice on what to do and even offered us discount for a geothermal place tomorrow and booked us a Maori village experience evening for tomorrow night. She was able to advise us which companies were best and it feels good knowing we have a planned day for tomorrow.En savoir plus
A bit of a disappointing evening
14 juin 2018, Nouvelle-Zélande ⋅ 🌙 8 °C
We set off reasonably early this morning to begin our busy day of doing things at Te Puia, a geothermal site that has the tallest geyser in the southern hemisphere. When we arrived we found out that they run free guided tours on the hour and it just so happened the next one was only in 10 minutes time so we decided to get on board with that. We were in a small group of 8 and were shown around by a Maori woman who lives in the village next to this area. It turns out her tribe have been taking visitors to the geysers and hot pools for decades and now that it has been turned into a real attraction her family and people still continue to run and own the site which I quite liked. She was very informative about the history of this area and the traditions and beliefs of her tribe. It felt like an authentic experience that couldn't of been explained better by anyone else. She showed us around a school they have on site where the students take a course to learn the traditional art of jade/bone/sandstone carving, wood carving or weaving. As we walked around we were on a high up walkway looking down into the studios and the students working. It did feel a little as if they were animals in a zoo being observed. One man who was once a student at the school is still coming here 50 years on. It seems a great place to learn Maori art techniques and what was even more great is seeing how many students there were not from a Maori background. It showed that many people do have an interest in the history of this beautiful country and It's first people. What was also great about the guided tour is she knew exactly when the geyser was looking like it would erupt so we headed over there as soon as she got word on the radio. There's actually two geysers connected here. The one on the left will start to go for about 10-20 minutes before the large one erupts. It's a pretty good indicator of when to expect an eruption and they know it happens every 1.5 to 2 hours. The water and steam that shot out of it was incredible to see and it went so high into the air. It can reach 30m high but I'm unsure if we got to see it at this height. We ended our tour at the kiwi house where we saw 3 birds because it just so happened to be feeding time. After the tour we explored the rest of the park and watched another eruption of Pohutu the geyser before heading back to the campsite. We were picked up at 4:45pm to go on our Maori experience evening at the Matai village. Initially we had high hopes for the evening as we were in a minibus of only 8 people but when we arrived and were escorted into a tent of 140 people all sat at dining tables we were instantly disappointed. We had no idea how large the group would be and even when we were split into two groups you were still with 70 people walking around. We spent about 45 minutes just sat waiting for things to start and then listening to our host go through every single country in the world that people could be from. Two people he knew from the USA were there so they instantly were his favourites. As we walked in a group of 70 down to the river to see warriors paddle in a waka canoe boat he only talked to his friends and also took them straight to the best viewing spot. It was like the other 68 of us didn't exist. Our food was cooked traditionally in the ground by the geothermic steam which was rather cool but we didn't sit down to eat until very late. We watched a cultural show first which demonstrated traditional songs, instruments and the haka dance. That was the saving grace of the evening because it was very interesting to see. We had our buffet dinner which was meant to be traditional Maori food but I'm pretty sure they didn't have pavlova or chocolate log back in the day. We then went on a bush walk in a group of about 30 with a girl who looked about 15 as our guide. All we were shown was glow worms and a couple of replica huts. She talked about the glow worms by saying "here folks we have the glow worm who is an egg, no worm doing its thing for 5 days and then it umm dies". The natural spring they have on site apparently gets here from the river by "some sciencey stuff and then there's the spring". It was laughable really and that was it we were back in the mini bus going home wondering what $90 was spent on. All we know is they are making a real killing here if everyone pays $90. I'm glad we got to see some Maori dances and performances but it was definitely nothing to write home about. Oh well tomorrow is another day and we can just put this down as a learning curve to always ask how big the groups are before booking!En savoir plus