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Ben M

Ben M

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    • AUS->NZ
      Mt Eden craterView of the city from the summit2"On a scale of 1-10, how annoyed have you been by me on this trip?"The unique cone optionsHokey pokey gelatoOyster Bay is so popular here. Nice to see as it's a fav at homeChilling at the airport lounge

      Haere rā / goodbye

      29. august 2023, New Zealand ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

      It’s bittersweet, but we’re both ready to head back. It’s been a perfectly crazy and wonderful trip.

      Our flight doesn’t leave until later in the evening so able to squeeze out the better part of a day in Auckland. We were able to get a late check out and spent the morning lounging in robes and relaxing in the gym/pool/sauna/hot tub.

      Hiked towards and up Maungawhau / Mount Eden, a dormant volcano with a 50m deep crater at the top. Nice walk - not nearly as high and steep as in Tauranga. And the views of the city are incredible.

      Giapo - creative and delicious gelato. NZ is known for its Hokey Pokey ice cream, which had a vanilla bean base with toffee and chocolate chunks - excellent!

      Airport lounge - Amy gets a handful of free entries into lounges through her credit card and she scoped out the Auckland one as being top notch - with a shower and all you can eat/drink hot food and alcohol. Was a nice way to spend 3 hours at the airport.

      Amy says she’s really looking forward to sitting on planes for 19 hours to allow for some quiet time to play solitaire and watch her reality tv shows. Not sure how to take that one… Off to Toronto via Houston, pending all goes well.      Les mer

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    • AUS->NZ
      1
      Ponsonby neighbourhoodIt was tragic Lover's Walk was so dangerousAuckland War MuseumAlbert Park1One of the courses at Ahi - tuna and smoked eel mortadella

      Auckland

      28. august 2023, New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

      Explored Auckland more, mostly walking. Auckland is a weird city. It’s pretty quiet. We walked past several major company offices mid-day on a Monday, like Microsoft, Grant Thornton, and Workday, and it was like a ghost town. The country has been very slow to return to the office. We managed to find some highlights and cute neighbourhoods, including Auckland Wintergardens, War Museum, Sky Tower, Wynyard Quarter and Ponsonby.

      We celebrated our final dinner with a spectacular chef’s tasting menu at Ahi, a fantastic New Zealand restaurant. Afterwards we went to Caretaker, a hidden gem bar that the waitress recommended as a local hit. It’s similar to Civil Liberties on Bloor where there’s no menu. Ben had a mind-blowing smokey scotch and ginger drink - far cry from when we were taste testing scotches with Laurie and gagging while watching Survivor. Auckland at night and in these livelier neighborhoods is very cool - improved our impression of the city significantly.      Les mer

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    • AUS->NZ
      Sheep on the way up Mount Maunganui"Let me get a photo of you because you're actually enjoying this"Karangahake gorge and Ohinemuri RiverCrown Mines1Maybe Ben packing frankfurters in his coat wasn't such a bad idea, Amy!Now in Auckland for two nightsHotel

      Bay of Plenty, Tauranga, and Karangahake

      27. august 2023, New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

      The drive to Auckland from Rotorua is 3-4 hours, so we broke it up and stopped to do something every hour or so.

      Bay of Plenty - first time seeing the Pacific while on NZ soil. Much more tropical here on the coast compared to inland, probably closer to what we were used to in Australia. Stopped at a beach city, Tauranga, to hike up Mount Maunganui, a 232m extinct volcano. It’s located right on the coast in the middle of the city - amazing views. A bit tougher climb than we were expecting. Some of us enjoyed it more than others…

      Karangahake gorge, Crown Mines, and Ohinemuri River - toured the remains of the mining and smelting facilities from the late-1800s. Interesting to learn about how they used the natural surroundings, including the gorge and river, and to see what’s remaining. On the hike back to the car, it finally rained! Can’t complain though - didn’t imagine ever going a full 24 days without rain.      Les mer

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    • AUS->NZ
      Eggs take 78 days to hatch and only have 5% success rate in the wild. 90% rate here, then releasedWe couldn't take pics (was very dark anyways), so this is from wiki11"Loyalty" - Amy's Māori wood carvingFalls by the geothermal pools1Mud time

      Rotorua - Kiwis, Redwoods and Hell

      26. august 2023, New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

      National Kiwi Hatchery - second kiwi conservation was the charm, and we got to see two! What strange little birds. These nocturnal guys have characteristics of birds, cats, and bats all combined into one, chicken-size creature. They’re in the same species group as the emu and ostrich, and surprisingly lay almost the same sized eggs. When the European settlers would take the kiwi skins home (now banned?), they would think this animal wasn’t real and was created by sewing other animal skins together.

      Whakarewarewa Forest - walked through this forest, including giant redwood trees.

      Hell’s Gate Geothermal Reserve and Mud Spa - enjoyed some time walking through the geothermal pools and erupting waters and learning about their significance to the Māori people. Gases escape where the Earth’s crust is shallower and heat (and melt) the water and earth above, up to 110C and 1.8 pH level. After the walk, we also enjoyed a class on wood carving and got to soak in the geothermal mud baths. What an incredible experience! Hopefully the memories last much longer than the sulphur smell from our bathing suits.

      72 hours left on we’ll be off for home.      Les mer

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    • AUS->NZ
      Waikato riverHuka FallsSausage roll, corn fritter, braised lamb sandwich"World's coolest McDonald's" - voted by other McDs1Hole in one competition

      Taupō and area

      25. august 2023 ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

      Driving is almost as much of an attraction here than anything. Absolutely stunning views and landscapes. It’s also very quiet. We spent the day in transit to our next accommodation, with hiking and sightseeing stops along the way.

      Huka Falls - hiked a trail along the Waikato river ending with the Huka Falls. Super beautiful turquoise water emptying into a very powerful falls, albeit not super high.

      Taupō - a larger town than what we’ve visited so far. Hit up a great cafe and a walk along Lake Taupō. The lake is the largest in all of NZ and Australia. In some of the pictures you can see the snowy summit of Mount Tongariro. We (Ben) originally planned to hike that, however after Amy looked into it, it was much more intense than initially thought. It’s something people plan and prepare extensively for, not just show up with running shoes and a bag full of peanut butter sandwiches.

      Amy is finally starting to get sick of Ben - only took 23 days. Stay tuned for updates.

      Off to Rotorua for two nights.      Les mer

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    • AUS->NZ
      2Glow worms at Waitomo Cave (📸 cred: internet, no pics allowed here)
      Waitomo cave centreEntrance to the underground cave1Glow worms extend these stick strands that traps tiny insets to eatTe Ruakuri bush walk1

      Back down under(ground)

      24. august 2023, New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

      Thank goodness for the heated blankets on the bed - cold morning wake up. The houses here are poorly insulated so the winter air is quite brisk indoors.

      Explored the town a bit more, as well as a few of the surrounding towns. The driving is beautiful - sprawling landscapes and hills all over.

      Waitomo caves - incredible experience. The cave is millions of years old formed by water flowing from the stream that runs through it and ground water that seeps through the layers of limestone. The rock formations are created by acidic rain water that makes its way through the earth and into the cave, resulting in 1cm of growth every 100 years. We exited the cave via boat where we saw thousands of New Zealand glow worms glowing above us like stars.

      Te Ruakuri cave and bush walk - just as nice as Waitomo. The cave was much larger and deeper into the ground with more stalagmites and stalactites, but fewer glow worms. The cave is “owned” by a local family, but includes areas that are sacred to the Māoris in the region and also serves as a burial site for some Māoris. In the 2000s, the cave entrance was moved to ensure tourists cannot access the sacred area and was also made wheelchair accessible. As a result, the cave entrance was moved out of respect to ensure tourists wouldn’t traverse the sacred areas.

      Bush walk was great. A lot more fauna and vegetation hidden away by the creek and caves.

      Otorohanga - another small town, known as Kiwiana Town. There are several kiwi statues, murals, lakes, etc.      Les mer

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    • AUS->NZ
      Hick Doyle right at home
      SnacksBefore the fightMid fight. Separate you two!View from the Airbnb2Good reminder. Ben needs this every 30 min or so

      Cutie in Te Kūiti

      23. august 2023, New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

      Just a three hour flight over to New Zealand and it’s crazy how different the world looks suddenly. Goodbye flat landscapes and sandy beaches, hello rolling hills and eerie mornings. Fields of baby calves or sheep every few minutes.

      Amy is very excited given her love of the fall. The whole country seems to smell of campfire. “Wow! Do you think they have pumpkin spice in July and August then??”.

      New country also means our ritualistic stop at grocery store. Ben: a jar of peanut butter and bread. Amy: straight to the snack aisle to see what this neck of the woods has to offer.

      Te Kūiti, which in Maori means “the valley” or the “narrowing”, is also the sheep shearing capital of the world. It’s the host to the annual New Zealand National Shearing Championships. To commemorate this incredible feat, a 6-metre statue was erected in the centre of town and Amy was very excited. She used to be self-conscious when Jake W would mock her and call her “Hick Doyle”, but now she wears that moniker proudly!

      We’re staying 2 nights at a guesthouse on a farm and have some roommates - 2 cats barged into the guesthouse as we were settling in. It was quite cute until they started fighting, so we gently escorted them back outside. In the middle of the night, they wanted back in and banged on the door while scaring the shit out of us.      Les mer

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    • AUS->NZ
      Bonsai house1Amy's arch nemesis the kookaburra. Never shuts up or leaves you alone

      Take it easy, land of plenty

      22. august 2023, Australia ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

      Last day in Australia. Can’t believe the luck we’ve had with weather - sunny most of the time and only a few cold stretches at night. Not a drop of rain this entire trip yet, knock on wood. Some of the travellers we met camping said Melbourne has had terrible weather, including torrential downpours. Glad we didn’t include it on this go of Australia. It’ll be first on the list for next time though - maybe for the Australian Open!

      Explored Brisbane a bit more today, including Mount Coot-Tha. Insanely beautiful botanical gardens and trails.

      Off to Auckland tomorrow morning to start the road trip tour of the North Island of New Zealand.      Les mer

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    • AUS->NZ
      Treasury Building - home to none other than a casino!Southbanks Park1Shout out to Kate for convincing me to bring a 5th teeNepalese Peace Pagoda - built for the '88 World ExpoOld and newQueens Street Mall - must be nice to have good enough weather for outdoor mallsEnjoyed lamingtons and Nepalese street food for lunchAnzac Park"Why is the 50 cent coin so large?? I'm not bartering for a cow"Hotel pool

      Brisbane

      21. august 2023, Australia ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

      Waking up in a warm, huge bed was glorious. We both said Brisbane feels like home - a busy city similar to Toronto, but not as massive as Sydney. The apartment has a gym, pool, and sauna, which are nice bonuses. Still recharging the social and physical batteries a bit.

      Explored Brisbane most of the day. Botanic Gardens, Queen Street Mall, and the Southbank Park were highlights. Capped it off with a nice dinner.

      One thing we’ve noticed is that Aussies struggle significantly with Amy’s name. She’s got “… eye …. mee??” several times so far. Unsure if it’s an uncommon name or we’re just pronouncing it differently.      Les mer

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    • AUS->NZ
      Lake CarawongeraCar 4 after the Swede stopped crying from the German almost tipping us over the cliff

      Day 3

      20. august 2023, Australia ⋅ ☀️ 21 °C

      Ben woke up to the tour guide saying “Guess who’s driving Truck 4 today, mate? You are”. Okay then. Probably related to one of the Germans nearly flipping us over yesterday afternoon. One of the Irish girls said our car motto is now “In Ben We Trust”. This company does take safety seriously, though, thankfully. Reviews for some of the others seem to indicate otherwise.

      Last night was very cold, but otherwise great weather. Packed up and cleaned camp early and we’re off. Stopped a few places along the way before getting on the ferry back to Rainbow Beach.

      Lake Carawongera - small lake inland. Surrounded by ti-trees and the oils seep into the lake. Calming and beautiful.

      Driving back to Brisbane, hopefully before dark. Ben has had plenty of driving practice the last 3 days. Hot shower, non-instant coffee, and a clean bed will be nice. Can’t complain about the food for the most part though - stir-fry, burgers, sausages, bacon, hash browns, pancakes, hot chicken sandwiches, and Amy’s fav, hot baked beans.

      The majority of the crew are off on a 14 hour night bus. Some weren’t thrilled when we mentioned our flight here was less than 2 hours and pretty cheap, but ah, they’re still super young.      Les mer

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