New Zealand 2017

April 2017

A 15-day adventure by Looking for 42 Read more

33footprints
1countries
15days
94photos
0videos
1.3kkilometers

Follow Calendar Share Bucket list

Looking for 42 New Zealand 2017
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Apr 8, 2017
- ☀️ 17 °C
- Altitude: 52 m
- New Zealand Waikato Matamata-Piako District Morrinsville Waitakaruru Stream -37.65896, 175.5242737°39’32” S 175°31’27” E
Day 1
Morrinsville
April 8, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
We arrived at Auckland Airport late in the afternoon and drove to Morrinsville to stay with Christina, my cousin. The drive through darkness along narrow country roads. Our first impression of New Zealand was sunrise out the bedroom window.Read more
0 likes
Looking for 42 New Zealand 2017
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Apr 9, 2017, 10:00am
- ☀️ 16 °C
- Altitude: 129 m
- New Zealand Auckland Mangawhea Stream -37.89846, 175.6469337°53’54” S 175°38’49” E
Day 2
Blue Spring
April 9, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
The Te Waihou Walkway and Blue Spring is about 4t minutes drive from Morrinsville. The short walk is immediately beautiful! There’s dairy cattle grazing in a paddock and a few hundred metres further we see the blue waters of the creek that leads to Blue Spring for the first time. The waters are impossibly clear. It looks shallow but is actually deep. The green plants look like tall trees that sway in the currents below the water. It’s mesmerising. At a constant 11’C it would make an incredible place to cool down in summer (though swimming is prohibited at the actual Blue Spring).Read more
0 likes
Looking for 42 New Zealand 2017
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Apr 9, 2017, 1:00pm
- ☀️ 18 °C
- Altitude: 426 m
- New Zealand Auckland Wairere Falls -37.73368, 175.8799937°44’1” S 175°52’48” E
Day 2
Wairere Falls
April 9, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
Former Cyclone Debbie dumped so much water at Wairere Falls hat the falls are visible from miles away. My cousin tells us about a track to view the falls. It’s 45 minutes each way and has some steep sections. Sounds perfect so we turn off the road to take a short hike. The walk is pretty. The creek is flowing quickly and full of water. Each bridge across the raging torrents brings stunning views. Small rainbows form in a whisper of water slipping down a wall in long thin fingers.Read more
0 likes
Looking for 42 New Zealand 2017
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Apr 10, 2017, 10:00am
- ☀️ 17 °C
- Altitude: 10 m
- New Zealand Waikato Hamilton City Melville Waikato River -37.80515, 175.3094237°48’19” S 175°18’34” E
Day 3
Hamilton Botanical Gardens
April 10, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
The botanical gardens at Hamilton are simply stunning. There are multiple rooms, each with its own theme. No room is an afterthought, with each being an exceptional example of the style it represents. There’s a Japanese garden of reflection, a Chinese garden of scholars, a colourful Indian garden complete with slightly off-white buildings, a structural Italian Renaissance garden, a controlled jungle tropical garden, vegetable gardens, a traditional Maori vegetable and kumera garden, and a rose garden that must smell amazing in spring. Entry is still free though a donation is appreciated for the upkeep and further development of the property.Read more
0 likes
Looking for 42 New Zealand 2017
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Apr 10, 2017, 1:00pm
- ☀️ 19 °C
- Altitude: 21 m
- New Zealand Waikato Hauraki District Karangahake -37.42318, 175.7210437°25’23” S 175°43’16” E
Day 3
Karangahake Gorge
April 10, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
We drive over to Waihi to walk in the Karangahake Gorge. I appreciate my cousin for her tour guiding and for driving us to so many places. Karangahake Gorge is 100km (62 miles) from Hamilton so it’s quite a long way. But it is worth the effort. The Gorge used to be part of a gold mining operation and evidence still abounds, such as a rotting rusty machinery, a railway line and swing bridge (which have been rebuilt of course). It’s difficult to imagine that this shrub filled place of beauty was once alive with the sights and sounds of sluices, draft horses hauling trolleys and men digging tunnels. Dust must have flown through the air and rock falls must have been common. We spend our time walking along the paths and through the dark tunnels taking in the natural scenery.Read more
0 likes
Looking for 42 New Zealand 2017
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Apr 11, 2017
- ☀️ 19 °C
- Altitude: 72 m
- New Zealand Taranaki New Plymouth District Uruti Mangahia Stream -38.93408, 174.5438838°56’3” S 174°32’38” E
Day 4
Morrinsville to Oaonui
April 11, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
The landscape of our drive is everything the New Zealand tourism board promises in their advertisements of this country. We start in the flat Waikato basin, passing dairy sheds, and black and white cows. It’s quite a contrast to our scruffy dry grasslands with brown beef castle at home. Almost imperceptibly we leave the Waikato basin behind at Awakino. We’re now on the rugged west coast with it’s sense of isolation.

We stop in Mokau. The town is tiny but has a museum (the lady there calls it a treasure trove). The museum houses a vast array of historic stories both Maori and European. My favourite display is definitely the pianola, which still works. I’ve never seen one in action before.Read more
0 likes
Looking for 42 New Zealand 2017
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Apr 12, 2017, 10:00am
- ☀️ 20 °C
- Altitude: 14 m
- New Zealand Taranaki New Plymouth District Lower Vogeltown Pukekura Park -39.05756, 174.0740639°3’27” S 174°4’27” E
Day 5
New Plymouth
April 12, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
New Plymouth is the largest town in this part of the Taranaki. It’s little more than a village but the distinction between city, town and village is broad here in New Zealand with its tiny national population. But an artistic village it

There is an art gallery dedicated to Len Lys. He created the wind wand on the waterfront. It’s all modern art and I find it dull. Lots of empty space and random objects that someone has called art. I’m not sure that I agree that coloured rods scattered around the gallery is art. Each to their own. And the exterior of the building is worth visiting with it’s wave of mirror wall.

Puke Ariki is nearby so I hop over there next while Paul walks. It’s drizzling so there’s no point staying outdoors. Puke Ariki is a large museum that covers local and natural history. We borrow a wheelchair so Paul can push me around and rest my hip. We learn about the natural history of Mt Taranaki, which developed and collapsed many times over thousands of years. The display of Maori history is respectful. I think about the stories we have heard from white people over the years about the relationships between Maori and European New Zealanders. There is much myth in the stories that Maori were not dispossessed, for the display we read at Puke Ariki clearly shows a tale of dispossession. Downstairs is a brilliant display about bugs. It’s aimed at children but we have fun there. We play a game about attracting bees to the garden and dress up in insect costumes.Read more
0 likes
Looking for 42 New Zealand 2017
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Apr 12, 2017
- ☀️ 19 °C
- Altitude: 22 m
- New Zealand Taranaki South Taranaki District Oaonui -39.38472, 173.8118439°23’5” S 173°48’43” E
Day 5
Oaonui
April 12, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
Our Couch Surfing hosts live on a farm in the middle of nowhere. It’s quiet and Mt Taranaki watches over the area witih authority. Even half hidden in the clouds the mountain is a strong energy. We chat over a roast lamb dinner. I enjoy hearing the stories of our hosts who are true locals to the area. That’s why we Couch Surf, to meet new people.

We visit Cape Egmont Lighthouse. The museum is only open during the weekend and today is Wednesday. But the drive along the coast road is eerie enough to keep us interested. Eerie because the beach is strewn with massive boulders that can only have come from a violent volcanic eruption. In the wind and drizzle it feels like this could happen again any time, even though the last eruption was in the 1750s. A dilapidated house just adds to the mystery.Read more
0 likes
Looking for 42 New Zealand 2017
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Apr 13, 2017, 10:00am
- ☀️ 14 °C
- Altitude: 928 m
- New Zealand Taranaki Stratford District Dawson Falls -39.31886, 174.1047139°19’8” S 174°6’17” E
Day 6
Te Rere O Noke
April 13, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C
Te Rere o Noke (as the Maori refer to Dawson Falls) drop 18m off a cliff formed by volcanic activity thousands of years ago. The path leads through an almosy fantasy like forest with gnarled trees, glossy green moss and black soil. The falls are magnificent: loud and rough.Read more
0 likes
Looking for 42 New Zealand 2017
- Show trip
- Add to bucket listRemove from bucket list
- Share
- Apr 13, 2017, 2:00pm
- ☀️ 20 °C
- Altitude: 104 m
- New Zealand Taranaki South Taranaki District Hawera -39.58544, 174.2800139°35’8” S 174°16’48” E
Day 6
Oaonui to Wanganui
April 13, 2017 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
New Zealand is far more rural and isolated than I had anticipated. Red tin sheds and old houses dot the landscape.

Stratford appears as if from nowhere. There are no distance signs in New Zealand to announce the approach of towns. An art gallery is the main attraction for the town. It’s a groovy place with some gorgeous pieces. We buy two pottery monks.

Eltham is a short drive away. The art gallery is closed when we arrive so we walk through a nearby garden. There’s a wall of toys accompanied by a faerie chapel and castle. It’s adorable. The toy wall and garden was created after a local found a toy on her garden and placed it on a wall in the garden. The toy garden grew as more people placed toys there. Today, the founder’s ashes are housed in the faerie chapel. The art gallery is open after our walk. It’s a lovely collection and we buy some prints.

Our next stop is Hawera where there is another gallery and also an art school. The art world is in safe hands. We buy some paintings and the artist happens to be onsite. She signs the works.Read more
0 likes