Sting ray bay
Hot Water Beach
DUMB T-bar
Whakapapa ski field
First stop on the North Island was Hawkes Bay for some wine tasting, stopped at a Paua Factory to get some souvenirs. Slept just outside Hastings. The next day we went to no less than 9 wineries. Salvare, Trinity Hill, Ngatarawa, Matariki, Te Mata, CJ Pask, Vidal, Church Rd and Mission Estates. Salvare was good, they had olive oil and salad dressing tastings too. And Dukka. Dukka is a dry Egyptian dip that changed my life. Its a bunch of spices and nuts blended together. Unreal. You can dip your bread in oil then the Dukka or just put Dukka on everything from eggs to sandwiches. Yep, did it. One little jar cost 11$ but I will learn to replicate it. Most of the wines were good but none beat Wither Hills Sauv Blanc. We went to Te Mata Cheese factory and got 4 blocks of goat brie for 4$. Bought crackers and had a sweet lunch. Arataki Honey Visitor Centre was good too, heaps of honey samples. I felt a bit sick after. I wanted to eat enough manuka honey to enjoy the antiseptic, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. We drove to Taupo and slept at a tree and park bench area. There were a thousand camper vans there. Its crazy how in the North Island you can literally camp anywhere whereas in South island every place has a sign saying "no camping, no overnight parking". Glorious.
After a solid sleep in and eggs and bread we drove to Whakapapa to board. I almost died on the T-bar. Such trouble for boarders! I almost lost the bar and had to hold on for dear life with my arms wrapped around it all the while Kirk laughing and yelling out things like "You are so awkward!". Thanks, buddy.
Slept near Tongariro crossing and awoke to cars honking as they drove by at like 5am. Ugh. Why? Drove to the Tongariro Crossing (it was supposed to be the only sunny day all week) and it was cloudy and miserable. We did half the crossing and climbed to the highest point. we were warned that winds could reach speeds that could blow us off the mountain. Sweet. we climbed in trainers, shorts and fleeces. Ghetto! The view was amazing, when the fog cleared for a few seconds. We could have walked the whole thing because we knew a guy on the other side, but we decided it wasn't worth it and turned back.
Rotorua was just a short hour drive away. We camped just outside town and went to Zorb in the am, basically they put you in a ball and roll you down a hill. Sadly, it was raining so you couldn't do the dry zorb. I will have to go back! We went to see Agoventures too, all the activities were too expensive though. We visited Kerosene Creek thermal pools (FREE ONES), and it was great until we got out and it was rainy and yuck with no hot showers or a place to change.
We drove to a free campsite just outside Te Kuiti and stayed there for the night. Awoke to 100,000 cars driving past to get to the bush walk nearby.
We drove to a free campsite just outside Te Kuiti and stayed there for the night. Awoke to 100,000 cars driving past to get to the bush walk nearby.
We drove to Waitomo caves and did a blackwater rafting trip! SO fun. Repelled into the caves, walked through some glow worm caves and climbed through tiny holes where you had to keep your hands out front and squirm. I felt a bit claustrophobic but it was cool! We did some tame whitewater rafting in inner tubes through the dark caves which was actually pretty sweet. Had hot juice and dairy milk and then rock climbed out of the cave. There were 2 American girls in our group, and our guides were Brandon (SO funny) and Stacey (training). We got hot soup after and bought our photos for 20$. Brandon took some funny photos where he did something to made the lens have longer exposure and would shout MOVE to we would move out of the photo and it looked like we were ghosts.
Final destination before Auckland was Hot Water Beach where you dig a hole during low tide and it fills with naturally hot water. It was awesome! So relaxing. But I was filthily sandy and when you are freedom camping you don't get to shower. Yuck. I survived though. Quickly drove to Cathedral Coves and did the walk. We went to Gemstone Bay, Stingray Bay and the Cove. It was a nice walk but pretty terribly made steps.
Camped about an hour outside Auckland that night and drove into the city in the am. So strange to be in a big city! We stayed in a City Lodge hostel in the small, artsy district of Parnell. I was gutted to find prices had risen to about 30$, whereas it was listed as 20$ in Lonely Planet circa 2008. Luckily, the owner took pity on my frugality and offered me a caravan out front for 50$ cash. DONE! It was awesome, kirk could pack his stuff easily and we basically got a private room with heating for cheaper than dorms. Love it. We went out for fish and chips but ended up finding a nice Indian restaurant that had a 2 for 1 entree deal. We got Lamb Rogan Josh, Chicken Tikka Masala and naan. Not nearly spicy enough but was yum. Got 2 glasses of free wine too. I had to run to an atm for cash and when I paid the guy charged us for the entree, apparently you had to choose either free wine or one free entree. But it wasn't made clear to us so I argued and we got it free. I felt bad after, but at the time I wasn't going to let that fly.
Our hostel had free internet so we finally sorted out funds, we spent SO much money. I don't know where... well mostly on adventures, lollies, chocolate and booze. As we were sorting funds I went to make hot chocolate and found the hostel owner holding all our (labelled!) food and wine. He said he didn't see the label on our wine (its a very expensive bottle, we got on sale), so I showed him where my name was written and he was like 'oh ya another Hannah just left so I was going to save all the food for her' riiiight. I snatched it back.
The next morning I took Kirk to the airport where we had a tearful goodbye and then I got lost driving back to Auckland. Decided to just go straight to Taupo and board at Turoa where I have a season's pass. It took about 5-6 hours to drive. Sucked to drive alone. Gorgeous day though. I slept in the car in Ohakune and was scared that some crazy would come along and murder me. Woke up every few hours.
At sunrise I drove to Turoa and was one of the first to arrive. The only person without a 4 wheel drive. You could rent snow chains up the mountain but I didn't need it. I accidentally left the lights on while I prepared to board and killed the battery. Flippen heck! I went to board and it was awesome. Best hill in NZ by far, out of the ones I went to. Decent park, great snow, express chair to the very top had comfy seats and the foot bars to rest your board on. NO OTHER HILL HAS THIS! Wild. I loved it. Lots of double diamonds were there (aka cliffs and I accidentally went off a few, missing my helmet). Met some cool people and had a great time until I twisted my knee coming off the chairlift. My boots are about 3 sizes too big and without someone to tie them tight for me, my feet slip out so it was bound to happen. I was gutted and got in the car and drove back to wellington. I was going to stay and board until Sunday but I was in pain and knew I should rest. I will have to go back later to get my money's worth of my seasons pass. Oh well, its nice to be home in my own bed and catch up with the Chapmans. Unpacking is going to be rough! Stuff is everywhere in the car.
Back to reality.
Back to reality.
Not sure why blogger won't let me move my pics around, sorry they are out of order etc!
LOVE!
LOVE!