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AUS->NZ

augusti 2023
En 27-dags äventyr från Ben M & Amy Läs mer
  • 27fotavtryck
  • 4länder
  • 27dagar
  • 415foton
  • 2videoklipp
  • 22,7kkilometer
  • 21,6kkilometer
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Datum stigande
  • AUS->NZ
    2
    Dag 21

    Cutie in Te Kūiti

    23 augusti 2023, Nya Zeeland ⋅ ☁️ 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.    Läs mer

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  • AUS->NZ
    2
    11
    Dag 22

    Back down under(ground)

    24 augusti 2023, Nya Zeeland ⋅ ☁️ 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.    Läs mer

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  • AUS->NZ
    1
    Dag 23

    Taupō and area

    25 augusti 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.    Läs mer

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  • AUS->NZ
    111
    Dag 24

    Rotorua - Kiwis, Redwoods and Hell

    26 augusti 2023, Nya Zeeland ⋅ ☀️ 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.    Läs mer

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  • AUS->NZ
    1
    Dag 25

    Bay of Plenty, Tauranga, and Karangahake

    27 augusti 2023, Nya Zeeland ⋅ ☀️ 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.    Läs mer

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  • AUS->NZ
    1
    1
    Dag 26

    Auckland

    28 augusti 2023, Nya Zeeland ⋅ ☁️ 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.    Läs mer

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  • AUS->NZ
    2
    Dag 27

    Haere rā / goodbye

    29 augusti 2023, Nya Zeeland ⋅ ⛅ 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.    Läs mer

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