New Zealand - North Island Tour - Feb 2017

Auckland Arrival
Thu, Feb 16 
It was raining moderately hard when our Air Tahiti Nui A340 touched down in Auckland. Travel on Air Tahiti Nui was as pleasant as our previous experience on Air New Zealand except all announcements were first made in French, then in English, so those who understood French got first dibs on emergency info. The nice people at Apex Rental handed me the key to a tired old Nissan Note, circa 2004, and off we went. On the left side of the road. Yikes. Calling up learned motor skills from our last NZ trip in 2015, things smoothed out on our way to Ponsonby, Auckland’s trendiest little neighborhood with lots of shops, bars, restaurants, etc. We lucked out in finding on-street parking in front of our Ponsonby Airbnb, “The Cabana”.

The Cabana was the coolest of all Airbnbs we’ve been in. It, and the main house, were renovated from a dismal state into beautiful and comfortable spaces with sophisticated aesthetics and clever touches; total budget was over $2M. We walked a couple of blocks to meet our Auckland friend, Helen, at Mekong Baby, a fabulous restaurant of her choosing. The food was delicious, the staff very friendly, and it was great to see and catch up with her. It rained heavily all night. We were told they’d been experiencing drought conditions that summer so the rain was welcome.

North to Mangawhai Heads and Whangarei
Fri, Feb 17
Rain tapering off. Walked over to a nearby coffee shop for our morning flat whites and popped into a Vodaphone store on the way back to The Cabana to pickup a local NZ SIM card for my phone. Jason, our Airbnb host, invited us into the main house for a second coffee. He’s a leading real estate agent, a pastry chef, a world traveler, etc. An interesting fella.

The last time we were in Auckland, we had wanted to tour the New Zealand Maritime Museum but arrived too close to closing so this time we grabbed a morning bus to the Central Business District (CBD) and spent as much time as we wanted in the museum. If one country has a deep maritime history, it's New Zealand, and the museum thoroughly satisfied our interests.

NZL32 won the 1995 Americas Cup in San Diego

Time to head north. Route 1, north of Auckland, is part of the Twin Coast Discovery Highway that goes all the way up the east coast to the northern tip (Cape Reinga) and back down the west coast. We started up the east coast but after 18 miles, we approached a section called the Northern Gateway Toll Road. A toll-avoidance exit was offered. Not knowing anything about either option, we stayed on the tollroad. Cars are electronically tolled (i.e. no tollbooths, just sensors and cameras) in NZ so we had to remember to go online later to pay the toll.

An hour later, we arrived at Mangawhai Heads on the east coast. Sun was breaking out over the water though dark clouds were building inland. We strolled along the empty beach with vistas to distant islands, like Hen and Chicken Island, and began the climb up the Mangawhai Cliffs Walkway but turned back after 15 minutes when it started to sprinkle. Since it was late in the afternoon and we wanted to get to our Whangarei Airbnb before dinner time, turning back got a big thumbs up.

Hen and Chicken Island from Mangawhai Head

Another hour north, we checked into our Airbnb, hosted by Paul, a motorcycle collector and his wife, who ran an onsite cattery. We had a nice dinner at The Quay in the Town Basin where we met an American couple from Wisconsin who mentioned they’d been peppered with Trump questions throughout their multi-week visit.


Bream Head and North to Paihia
Sat, Feb 18 
Weather continued to improve. Returning to the eastern coast, we started climbing the Bream Head Loop Track in bright sunshine but when we reached the WWII radar site (about a 1200’ ascent), we had penetrated the low cloud layer and lost visibility. Climbing is all (well mostly) about vistas so we returned to the carpark.

Bream Head Loop Track

Then we drove to the AH Reed Kauri Park for a stroll through the forest canopy on an elevated walkway, not exactly way up high in the canopy but still plenty high above the wet, fragile forest floor. The walkway wraps around the giant trunks of Kauri trees, allowing a close and personal touch. We walked to nearby Pukenui Falls (79’) and then the larger and more popular Whangarei Falls (86’).

Kauri Canopy Walk in AH Reed Park

An hour north, in Paihia on the Bay of Islands, we found lots of people, for an unwelcome change. Very touristy. We arrived on a busy summer weekend, without lodging reservations. Talk about adventurous! Popped into the i-Site, consulted with one of the booking agents who searched all over and found one private room in the center of town at the Saltwater Lodge, a “backpackers” place.

Saltwater Lodge

Checking in, we were handed a set of towels and directions to the room. Interesting place, 1st floor was admin, laundry, parking, and a fleet of loaner bikes. Each of the two stories above were a long row of rooms with all glass front walls opening onto an expansive community deck with a picnic table in front of each room. The rooms were warm (no a/c) so lodgers were hanging out at the breezy picnic tables, on their devices, enjoying free wi-fi. Each unit featured two king beds, a bunk stack, a long (12’) countertop with storage below, a mini-kitchen, and a large bathroom with curb-less shower and center floor drain for hosing the whole room down.

Wandering around town, we kept seeing the Chevy V8-powered Thunder-Trike cruising up and down the main drag with grinning customers who laughed each time he goosed the throttle. We were lucky to get a table at Rayz on the Bay where we found nice craft beer, food, and people watching.


Bay of Islands
Sun, Feb 19
Gorgeous sunny day, perfect for biking around Paihia on our orange Saltwater Lodge beach bikes. We ferried them across the bay to Russell and rode every single road we could find, some very steep with one requiring walking.

Orange bikes stealing the fashion show.

Giant crayfish in the Russell Museum

Russell and the Bay of Islands

Sue went for a swim in Oneroa Bay on the backside of the Russell peninsula. 

We rode out to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, site of the historic treaty signing between the Maori and British. It seems all New Zealanders, especially the tourist agencies, implore visitors to visit the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. Now we know why. Admission price was $40pp. We passed (we prefer natural over cultural tourism), rode back to Paihia, returned the bikes and hit the road for the hour drive to Kohukohu, a remote village that had bustled during the timber rush, burnt down a few times, and now is trying to recover as a historic site.

The Kohukohu Pub bartender looked up when we entered and gave us the deer-in-headlight look for a few seconds before regaining composure. Apparently they don’t get very many tourists. The kitchen had closed a half-hour prior but he dragged a reluctant server out for an awkward and uncomfortable discussion on what what kind of food was available. Fish and chips, and beer, made for a decent outcome.

A few minutes down the road, our next Airbnb, the “Nature Retreat”, could be found at the bottom of a steep gravel driveway where our car bottomed out a few times on protruding boulders and drainage ditches. We found a compound with several small buildings, an old school bus, an old RV camp trailer, clotheslines sagging with sheets, an open grassy center surrounded by tall brush and trees laced with grassy paths and natural gardens. We were met by a young friendly American woman who was one of two WWOOFers helping out the host, Angela. While our room was private in one of the separate buildings, it featured ventilation through big open screenless glass doors, flying bugs, a private bathroom accessed via a dark outdoor walk on a covered deck, and a composting toilet. In keeping with the retreat setting, wifi was only available in a common space inside the main building. Our stay was comfortable, only a little bit challenging, and provided an interesting experience consistent with offbeat traveling.


Hokianga Harbor and South Along the West Coast to Te Kauwhata
Mon, Feb 20 
We got a very early start so that we could catch the first ferry across Hokianga Harbor to Rawene. Another gorgeous day, slightly misty in the low moist areas, beautiful sunrise over the eastern hills across the harbor while on the ferry.

Ferrying across Hokianga Harbor 

Drove south along the west coast and stopped in the Waipoua Kauri Forest to visit New Zealand’s largest Kauri tree, Tane Mahuta. Impressive, with great girth, but not a lot of height, though perhaps unfairly I had Giant Sequoias in mind.

Tokatoka Peak

South of Dargaville, we parked to climb Tokatoka Peak, a conical volcanic core rising from the coastal plains. The climb (~500’, 20 minutes) is a steep climb up a dirt lower, rocky mid, and sheer rock upper section. Great view from the top.

Drove south towards Auckland on Route 1 and, again, encountered the choice of toll or toll-free. This time, I chose toll-free and exited the motorway onto the attractively named Hibiscus Coast Highway which eventually looped its way back to Route 1 but became very scenic as it dropped down to the beaches of Hatfield and Orewa. Back on Route 1, we sped through Auckland and continued south towards our Te Kauwhata Airbnb.

Waikato Museum in Hamilton

We found ourselves running on the early side so we continued past to Hamilton and toured the impressive Waikato Museum. There was an excellent exhibit on Matariki, the Maori name for  the Pleiades constellation which marks the first time they'd ever seen a Subaru. Seriously though, it's an annual celebration of the first rising of the constellation, in late May/early June. We then walked up and down Victoria Street searching for a restaurant serving good craft beer and landed at the Keystone Restaurant for a nice dinner.

Country cottage Airbnb in Te Kauwhata

Afterward, we headed back north to a fabulous Airbnb, our favorite yet. Setting was rural suburban highlands with an expansive view of the hills rising above distant Lake Waikare. The apartment was spacious, bright, clean, well-stocked with food and drink, and sported a washing machine that we took advantage of. We were met by one of the two retired service dogs on site, a big lovable yellow lab. The hosts, Jan and John, were super accommodating with lax checkin and checkout times.


Raglan to Otorohanga
Tues, Feb 21

Gorgeous day. Drove an hour south to Raglan, a hippy surf town on the west coast. Found the best coffee in New Zealand, at Raglan Roast. 

Bovine spectators on the loose

Drove south along the coast, past surf schools in the waters of Manu Bay, and onto gravelly Whaanga Rd which was barely a lane and a half wide and cut into a steep jungle face overlooking the Tasman Sea. The road grader was busy on this section and had just completed the first of three drags which left a ridged crown of raw rocks, dirt, and gravel near the middle of the road. Without traffic, I was able to stay just to the decent side of the gnarly mess, but in a few instances I had to drive over the ragged piles, which caused horrendous noises under the car. This was easily the most treacherous road I’d ever driven in NZ. After about 4 miles, we reached the Te Toto Gorge carpark, pulled in, and hiked downslope to magnificent grassy overlooks above the scenic coastal cliffs dropping into the Tasman Sea.

The Tasman Sea from the Te Toto Gorge

Bridal Veil Falls

We then drove to pretty Bridal Veil Falls (180’) for a short hike and gaze. 

We headed back inland to Otorohanga for our next Airbnb, the “Farm Cottage in Waitomo Valley”, where the host, Sarah, was remote so we were all alone in an entire house way out in a quiet agricultural valley. Horses watched us unload the car from across the street. We noticed after dinner the Milky Way appeared brightly with Orion’s Belt right above us, yet we thought you couldn’t see northern hemisphere constellations in the southern hemisphere so we decided we’d research this oddity later (of course we forgot to).

Farm Cottage in Waitomo Valley

Waitomo Caves and West Coast Beaches to New Plymouth
Wed, Feb 22 
Another gorgeous day. Sarah drove up and intercepted us in the driveway as we were backing out. She had a strange accent, part Kiwi, part Chicagoan, a result of 10 years in New Zealand. We always enjoyed meeting our hosts when possible. 

We then toured Otorohanga’s Kiwiana (like “Americana”, get it?) street exhibits, an explosion of Kiwi facts and stories sprinkled all about town. Okay, explosion might be a bit of an exaggeration. Still, we learned quite a bit about Marmite, Weet-bix, Sir Edmund Hillary, and really useful things, like Kiwi slang.

Driving through Waitomo, which boasts one of New Zealand’s biggest tourist traps, the Waitomo Glow Worm Caves (imagine billboards, parking lots, buses, and souvenir shops), we didn’t even slow down. But once the neon faded, we stumbled upon the Aranui Caves and explored tiny caves and waterways carved through the limestone, accessed along easy paths. And a short drive further led us to the Mangapohue Natural Bridge which had a short walk to a stunning limestone double archway.

Creature emerging from Aranui Caves

Double archway in the Mangapohue Natural Bridge

Then we were off to the west cost again, ultimately headed for New Plymouth. After a quick stop to check out Marokopa Falls (115'), the road turned south and went from tarmac to gravel for 36 miles. It ran roughly parallel to the coast, but inland, and it was desert dry. Our dusty rooster tail hung in the air for minutes. We hoped we wouldn’t have to breath dust from cars in front of us or oncoming cars. We got lucky and were spared from dusty lungs. This was the most deserted road I’d ever driven in NZ.

Marokopa Falls

After about an hour, we turned onto a side road that led to Waikawau Tunnel Beach. Fascinating beach access for one of the most remote beaches in NZ. The 260’ long tunnel, dug through limestone in 1911 to enable ship loading of sheep and wool, led us to a gorgeous deserted black sand beach with alien rock formations.

1937 Chrysler parked at tunnel access to beach. 
Owner (an American from NC, now living in NZ) had purchased it in Auckland 4 days prior.

Waikawau Tunnel Beach

Alien forms on Waikawau Tunnel Beach

Back on the road to New Plymouth, we stopped at the beaches in Tongaporutu where we found the blackest sand we’d ever seen and giant standing rocks and arches, many named like 3 Sisters and Elephant Rock. We were able to walk through one of the arches before being chased away by the rising tide.

Walking towards 3 Sisters

Low tide photo op

Tongaporutu boulders, reminiscent of the Moeraki Boulders on the South Island, came in different sizes

Further down the coast, we stopped at the WhiteCliffs Walkway and walked on beautiful black sand beaches while 3 young boys practiced surfing.

Kids self-learning to surf

The tide was too high to hike the Walkway loop so we finished driving to New Plymouth, stopped for dinner at Frederics, and checked in to our Airbnb which was tucked into a tidy modern residential part of New Plymouth. Nick, the host, wasn’t home yet so we freaked out his dog and it ran away. I ran after it for a while but it disappeared into the distance. A few moments later, a vintage gypsy micro-van rolled up and out popped a hairy bearded young man. Nick had a friendly spark in his eyes and a sweet manner about him. Sue nervously broke the bad news to him and he said, no worries, the dog, “Haachi”, knows his way home. He whistled and in seconds, Haachi came tearing up the street and leapt into Nick’s arms, all wags and tongue.

Nick and the nice guys. And a chicken.

View of Mt Taranaki from our Airbnb

Our flat was the entire 2nd floor of his house and offered a clear view of Mt Taranaki, considered to be one of the most symmetrical volcanic cones in the world. It is young and active, though the last known activity was 150 years ago. It’s the North Island’s 2nd highest peak (8300’) with the tallest prominence (7616’) since it rises from a coastal plain. Knowing Nick was a local mountain guide from his Airbnb profile, we spent some time talking to him about our goal of climbing Taranaki. He’s guided many people on Taranaki and was animated when sharing his experience with us. He described route options, timing (plan on an 8-10 hour day so get an early start) and clothing (don’t underestimate how quickly the weather can change). One has to be fairly lucky to score a full day of nice weather on Taranaki.


Mt. Taranaki
Thu, Feb 23 

Our lucky day: a perfect forecast! We reached the park’s visitor center carpark (3120’ elevation) at 7am, just before sunrise. The sky was crystal clear and it was only slightly chilly so we started out with fleece jackets for warmth.

Last chance for a toilet

There were 6 main climbing stages. The first was a wide gentle grade through low trees, followed by a steepish climb called the “Puffer” up a service road that ended at a giant communication tower.

The morning sun was bright and warm and the fleeces came off before we reached this point. The only flora at this elevation were low shrubs and ground sprigs. Next were some rock scrambles and wooden staircases to get up a steep field of loose jagged rock and delicate flora. Nick said one of his recent clients counted 432 stair steps. We didn’t count but that seemed about right. No further vegetation could be seen other than little patches of lichen and an occasional mini-flower.

This put us onto a long steep frustrating scree field that rewarded each step with an unpredictable half-step backward. Slow going as we searched for traction. Dozens of climbers were on this pitch, with differing paces governed by experience, luck, and tread design. Some were on all fours at times.

Scree!

After this was a long climb on a rocky spine called the “Lizard”. The Lizard was fun for those with some rock climbing experience since hand and foot holds were all over the place. Colored posts installed all the way through the scree field and Lizard guided hikers during low visibility but on this day, our line up the Lizard was whatever we wanted. The Lizard peaked at a false summit, the crater rim.

Flora on the Lizard

Crossing the snow-filled crater to reach the final pitch of loose lava rock was tricky as the steep edges on each side were icy and more slippery than the scree field.

Having fun in the crater

Summit selfie

The short scramble up the summit lava cone landed us, at 11:30am, on the top of the world. Coastal views swept 270º and 110km to the east were the mountains of Tongariro National Park. We’d had deep blue sky above us the entire climb. Lowland clouds had begun to form below us in the distance, which only increased our sense of height. Jet contrails were high above us. Faint wisps of vapor streaked and twisted through the summit area. Despite temps in the 30s we were warmed by the intense sun but the wind finally forced our fleeces back on.

Summit stroll

Lunching while watching some of the ants on the snow

After an hour of lunching and exploring, we began our descent. We were tired and found the descent to be more difficult than expected, especially where the surface was loose. Sue and I both fell a few times with bloody hands and arms to show for it.

Descending the Lizard

Nursing wounds with good craft beer

Halfway down the Puffer, a young German guy, Fabian, caught up to us and asked if we could give him a lift from the carpark back to his hostel in New Plymouth, to which we said sure. We chatted about his gap year, university plans, and other things that were probably boring for the youngster.  With exhausted leg muscles and aching knee joints, we arrived at the carpark at 4pm. We had an early dinner at the local pub, Stumble Inn (finally, we finally patronized a Stumble Inn!).


The Taranaki experience was exceptional. It was hard. It was memorable. It even drove Sue to write home about it. Her letter to her sister, Nancy:

“Today everything hurts. We climbed Taranaki yesterday. You know, it looks so straight forward from a distance, but it is anything but. It is like an obstacle course designed by Satan. First you are lulled into a nice gentle hike through the trees, then the path gets steeper; cool--it's mountain, we want a workout. Next, you're above tree line, and they have mercifully provided steps--400+ of them. Feels kind of cushy, actually. Don't be fooled, because you are in for the most hellish 200 meters of your life. Grappling your way up a steep pitch of loose scree, no way to find a foothold, 3 steps forward 2 steps back. Finally, when you're just thinking f*** this s**t I'm turning around, you get to the rock scramble. It's another slice of hell but an amazing improvement over the scree because you can actually make forward progress. It is nearly vertical and a real workout for every arm and leg muscle. At last you can see what looks like the top--yay! Of course it is not. You have in front of you a field of corn snow that rises at an ever increasing pitch, making it nearly impossible to climb without sliding all the way back down if you're not careful. At this point you're mad, really mad, and nothing is going to keep you from summiting. Not even another #%*#! rock scramble just like the one that depleted the last of your resources.

Once at the top, you're treated to the most incredible 360 degree view ever. You've got all the dramatic features created by the volcano's violent past, as well as an airplane window seat view of the landscape below all the way to the ocean. We spent about an hour up there taking it all in. It would be perfect, except for the knowledge that you have to get back down that hell course, and it would probably be too embarrassing and costly to get airlifted out of there.

So off we went. "Skied" down the snow field--the was the fun part. The only fun part. Every challenge on the ascent felt twice as challenging on the way back down with our already maxed out muscles. You would think that gravity is your friend on the way down, and to a certain degree it is. But it is also your enemy, because one false step can send you tumbling to your death. Really, climbing down the rock scramble was one of the scariest things I've ever done in my life.

Then our old friend the scree field. We were told that you can slide/ski all the way down it, easy-peasy. Not so, unless you don't mind an out of control ride to your death at the bottom of a canyon. So slide-fall-slide-fall all the way down that f**king 200 meters. I've never been so happy to see a set of stairs in my life.

The remainder of the hike was relatively civilized. We were approached by a nice German kid who asked for a ride back to the hostel in town. I was so physically and emotionally depleted I couldnt make decent conversation. But I still had enough energy to smile so he wouldn't be frightened.

We got back to our place, showered, grabbed dinner at the local pub. I was in bed by 7:45. What a day.”


New Plymouth and Ameri-CAR-na
Fri, Feb 24 
Nick’s response to our Taranaki story was “Good on ya!”, Kiwi for, “nice job!” It was a rest day for us so we toured around New Plymouth, which turned out to be a wonderful little city. The weather was once again perfect so we rented bikes to explore the New Plymouth Coastal Walkway, an 8 mile long, award-winning piece of civil and social engineering brilliance. 

Coastal Walkway's grassy parts 

Coastal Walkway's rocky parts 

Coastal Walkway's artsy parts.
Here, the 150' Wind Wand by Len Lye 

We rode about half of it, enough to reach the beautiful Te Rewa Rewa Bridge, which resembled whalebones partially wrapped around a gracefully arcing backbone.  The Walkway featured whimsical public sculptures, well-thought out access points, and nicely laid out sightlines. It appeared to be vary popular with locals and tourists alike. 

The Te Rewa Rewa Bridge frames the cloud-veiled Mt Taranaki in the distance

We visited the Len Lye Centre, an art gallery dedicated to the works of Kiwi Len Lye, known for, among other things, kinetic art. The current large piece exhibit featured giant pieces of stainless steel being tortured. Bins of ear muffs were available to protect listeners. The Len Lye Centre, built in 2015, is an architectural masterpiece. 

Len Lye Centre

Giant pieces of stainless steel spinning, whipping, slamming, twisting.
For scale, note the earmuffed people in lower right of photo.

When we first arrived in New Plymouth, we noticed American flags flying all around the city. Our dinner server at Frederics told us it was the annual Ameri-CAR-na Festival that week. Kiwis LOVE big, bold, and brash American cars and this was a celebration of vintage, classic, muscle, and anything-goes American car stuff. Friday afternoon featured a big car parade down the street next to our Airbnb that led to a giant car show downtown where the roads in the CBD were closed so that the 800 registered cars could park and be fondled by 1000s of fans. We watched the early part of the parade, which was loosely formed and sprinkled with other vehicles, like commuters, tourists in rental cars, and tradespeople in work vans. Rowdy crowds in good spirits heckled the interlopers. 

American iron with Mt Taranaki as a backdrop

Cape Egmont Lighthouse

I noted that we could see vintage American cars any time in the states so we hopped into our little Nissan rental car, eased into the parade traffic, managed not to get heckled, and drove south out of town to explore the “Surf Highway” that circumnavigates the circular coast surrounding Mount Taranaki. We stopped at the Cape Egmont Lighthouse to watch the sun dip from inside the cupola at the top. 

On the drive back to New Plymouth, we stopped in Oakura for dinner at Butlers Reef bar & Grill. Beer good, food good, service not so good; we figured the staff was tired after a busy Friday night.


Forgotten World Highway to Raetihi
Sat, Feb 25 

A beautiful morning. Before checking out of Nick’s house, we asked for a tour of his garden. Imagine a neatly manicured neighborhood with out of sight cars, implements, people, etc. Nick’s 6’ high privacy fence barely disguised the free and natural wildness happening behind it. He practices permaculture and has established over the last three years active and sustainable systems for growing and maintaining a significant number of fruit and vegetable plants, and even a small flock of chickens. Neighbors have been won over slowly through gifts of food, one zuchini at a time. 

We drove the Forgotten World Highway which snakes 93 miles from Stratford to Taumarunui with zero civilization along it except for the decaying settlement of Whangamomona at the halfway point, where we stretched our legs and absorbed the desolation and sadness of this once prosperous township. 

Whangamomona Post Office closed for business

At least there was some color in Whangamomona

When we arrived in Raetihi later in the afternoon, we found another town that had seen better days. Once a thriving railway town serving a booming timber industry, it had gone through depressive cycles and is trying to regrow with the recreation economy. We found many closed shops, though one, The Barbed Wire Gallery looked to be bright and cheerful. 

Cheerful living room in our Airbnb

This was our Airbnb for a couple of nights, specifically the large apartment attached to the back. The gallery didn’t have regular operating hours but the owner left a note inviting us to explore the gallery whenever we wanted and to just leave a payment for anything we wanted to buy. As pseudo-minimalists, we were more interested in looking than buying, though I did wind up purchasing a Barbed Wire greeting card. We made dinner in the well-stocked kitchen and got to bed early in preparation for tomorrow’s big adventure!

(The World Famous) Tongariro Alpine Crossing - 
Hybrid Edition
Sun, Feb 26 
The other big hike we hoped to complete on this trip was the Tongariro Alpine Crossing (TAC), described as one of the best one-day hikes in New Zealand, if not the world. It’s a 12 mile 5-8 hr one-way hike and ascends 2500’ before dropping 3700’. Tongariro National Park is a dual World Heritage area, recognized for its outstanding natural features and cultural significance. The typical hiker arranges an end-of-hike shuttle ride back to their car or lodge. This is one of New Zealand’s most popular hikes with hundreds of people starting from the same point around the same time each day. 

We had discussed our goal with Nick before leaving New Plymouth and he was eager to suggest a “better” idea, which was to start the TAC with everyone else but to turn off near the 1 mile mark onto a goat path that ascends to a ridge line along the backside of Mount Tongariro where, after summiting, you reconnect with the other hikers and return to the carpark on the TAC, but in the reverse direction and after most of the morning hikers have passed through. This strategy delivered 3 benefits: you avoid the mad crush of hikers for most of the hike, you still experience the most spectacular parts of the crossing near Red Crater summit, and you don’t have to deal with a return shuttle since you’re hiking a loop back to your car. We were sold! 

Cables were available if needed

The weather was once again perfect. We arrived at the Mangatepopo Carpark just before 8am to find crowds of people and one parking spot left. Slicing through the throng and setting out on the TAC track, we were eager to find the goat path. Discovering it turned into a frustrating exercise as we intently scanned each inch of the track in the expected section, to no avail. We had no choice but to continue on the TAC with everyone else and attempt Nick’s route backwards from the top of Mt Tongariro. Hiking with the flow wasn’t as bad as it may sound since the scenery was other-worldly and people tended to maintain their personal space boundaries, as if magnetically repelling others.

Three hours in, about midway where the TAC reaches it’s highest point near Red Crater, our minds were reeling from the beauty. Every direction offered magnificence. Icy Blue Lake on one ridge line, steamy brilliant green water in Emerald Lakes, the imposing volcanic cone of Mt Ngauruhoe (Mt Doom in the LOTR movies) above us, deep gashes and lava vents protruding from craters, deep blue sky overhead and a sea of white clouds below. 

View from Red Crater summit of Blue Lake and Emerald Lakes

Volcanic vent feature 

We split from the TAC and climbed to the summit of Mt Tongariro where we found a handful of other hikers who then returned back to the TAC after enjoying the peaceful views away from everyone else. We lunched under Doom’s gaze. 

Sign pointed the way for us

Lunching eye to eye with Mt. Ngauruhoe (Mt. Doom)

Low clouds were forming and wafting up Tongariro’s backside, urging us to get going in case the weather turned heavy quickly. Nick had told us to search for cairns to find our way along the backside. We began our descent and immediately found the going confusing as there was no path, no one in sight, no cairns, nothing but scree, boulders, and mist. 

More scree action

We adopted a serpentine search pattern, similar to training I’ve had for searching for snow avalanche victims, looking for traces of boot marks, all the while avoiding stepping on fragile flora (mostly lichens but small flowers were becoming more prevalent). We were occasionally able to pick up and follow a faint trail before losing it again. 

What is the proper cairn etiquette? Add, Delete, or Save?

Eventually, we found small cairns, triggering mental sighs of relief, and then larger ones, as we continued our descent. We worked our way over to the long ridge line that hovered 1000’ above the TAC track we had hiked in on hours earlier. When we reached the area where the mythical goat path should have been, we were still unable to find it so we began looking for the safest way to descend to the bottom of the ridge. 

A dry waterfall bed that angled steeply down instead of a sheer drop looked like the best bet so we carefully picked our way down, rock by rock, careful again to not step on vegetation, which was more abundant than higher up. By the time we reached bottom, which was well below the level of the TAC track and about a 1000’ feet away, the vegetation had thickened significantly to the point where it was difficult to see the ground through large puffs of grassy fronds and viciously tangled brush that had to be forced or broken to take a step. Visibility beyond the next obstacle was rare. We also faced water crossings up to 4’ deep and a couple of hundred feet of wetlands riddled with hidden water channels. 

Things looked impassable and feelings of desperation clawed at us. Our choices were to backtrack all the way for hours with a return in the dark or commit to finding a way across the forbidden zone, and hope we didn’t get arrested for destroying native plants. Lousy choices. I hated the bushwhacking one less, and since the situation felt dire, Sue was agreeable with my choice. 

We forced our way across the wetlands, but instead of trying to step between the grassy sedge cushions, we were stepping right in the center of them if we could see them. Once, a foot slurped its way past a tuft edge and my boot instantly filled with water and muck.  Luckily, we were able to find narrow gaps where we could jump across the streams. I could hear Sue verbally squirming as she tried to avoid icky things. "I'm way outside my comfort zone", she muttered. Each step required pushing tall brush aside, sometimes accompanied with a snap or two. I kept describing what I was doing and what I could see as a feeble, yet effective, attempt to help calm her and suppress her urge to panic. I didn't mention all the spider webs I destroyed until later (she thanked me for that). We eventually reached the far side of the wet valley floor where we found the bank to be vertical for about 20’. This necessitated graceless jungle gym moves to clamber up and through incredibly thick brush. The slope slowly gave way to gentler grades and brush, and finally, after an hour (total) of struggling, we rejoined the TAC track. 

Looking both ways, nobody was in sight, whew, and we were back in the carpark by 4pm. We surveyed the damage: Sue had bloody gashes on her bare shins while I merely had the wet pant leg. Two young french guys enjoying their gap year accosted us near our car and asked for a ride back to the main road. Made me wish I had taken a gap year in New Zealand. In 1976. To nurse our new wounds and celebrate our survival, we splurged on an elegant dinner at the posh Powderkeg Restaurant in Ohakune.


Taupo
Mon, Feb 27 
Another gorgeous day. We drove an hour north to Lake Taupo, New Zealand’s largest lake, which is situated in the Taupo Volcanic Zone along with the other major geothermic features on the North Island, such as White Island and the volcanoes in Tongariro National Park. 

At the south end of the lake, we took a quick tour of the Tokaanu Thermal Walkway, which proved to be a disappointment. Very little in the way of thermal gurgling or spewing to see or hear, though there was some steam to prove there was something hot in the area. At least it was a free tour. 

During the 45 minute coastal drive north to the touristy city of Taupo, we enjoyed the expansive views across the lake. The slower pace of the lake traffic was a nice contrast to the frenzied mountain driving favored by locals in other parts of the country. 

Lake Taupo is NZ's largest lake

We explored Taupo’s harbor where they were pushing water-based tours (cruises, sailboats, kayaks, parasailing, etc) and CBD where the shop- and restaurant-laden streets were set up to be pedestrian-friendly and easy to navigate. Ten minutes north of town is Taupo’s busiest attraction, Huka Falls, where the outflow from Lake Taupo is forced through narrow channel walls, resulting in fierce roaring frothy green rapids. It was quite invigorating. 

Huka Falls. Note scale of the people in the upper left.

Across the street, “The Craters of the Moon” is another free-admission geothermally active park where you get what you pay for. Better than Tokaanu, but not by much. 

Downstream from Huka Falls, the Waikato River is choked off by the Aratiatia Dam to feed the Aratiatia Power Station. Excess water is released through spill gates, creating temporary rapids for tourists to see 4 times per day. While waiting on an upper observation deck for the 2pm opening, we noticed teenagers goofing around on the rocks below. 2pm came and went with no release. Then we heard dam safety personnel yelling at the kids to get off the rocks. There had been a death two weeks prior under similar circumstances and the dam was not taking unnecessary chances. 

View of Acacia Bay from our Airbnb

Then off to find our Acacia Bay Airbnb, which was 10 minutes west of the CBD. It served up an amazing view of Lake Taupo and the mountains beyond. This Airbnb was another great find, with large modern rooms, convenient location, and a big friendly dog to greet us. We took the 100 step staircase down to the Acacia Bay beach where kids and other family members were swimming. We also noted kayak rentals right there, perfect for tomorrow’s activity. 

Near dinner time, our research revealed the best place in town for craft beer was the Lakehouse, where we also found excellent food, and a nice view of the lake. Returning late to our Airbnb, we noted dark clouds in the distance and enjoyed a dramatic lightning storm over the lake that night.


Kayaking Lake Taupo
Tue, Feb 28 
Looking like a clear day was in store, we rented kayaks from the nice people at Taupo Kayaking Adventures. The big lake draw for tourists is a large Maori rock carving on Mine Bay, which was 2 hours by kayak from Acacia Bay. The 46’ high carvings were completed in 1980 by Maori artists. During our slog into the wind, we saw heavily loaded two-masted sailboats, big party cruisers, and even a helicopter heading for the carving. We imagined crowds blocking the view and souring our experience, but by the time we arrived, they had all left which made it easy for us to linger and enjoy our solitude with the massive work. Our return paddle was a little faster with the wind, but our arms were weaker making for an exhausting day. We made a rare encore restaurant visit that evening, to the Lakehouse. Best craft beer of the trip.

Paddling into the wind

Sue getting a close look at the Maori rock carving in Mine Bay, Lake Taupo

Wai-O-Tapu Stinky Wonderland
Wed, Mar 1 
A beaut of a day. We thought we’d give the Aratiatia Rapids another try on our way out of Taupo so we hiked in to the mid-level viewing platform, 100’ above the canyon floor, for the 10am water release. The warning sirens blew, followed by a slow motion transformation of a quiet babbling brook into a roaring full-fury white water death flow. The excitement lasted 20 minutes before fading back to a low gurgle.  Peter Jackson filmed the hobbit barrel escape scene from The Hobbit - The Desolation of Smaug using two of these water release events.

Aratiatia Rapids - before and after water release

Thirty minutes north of the rapids, on the Thermal Explorer Highway, was Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland, a very popular park and one of very few where we were willing to pay the admission fee. Featuring a variety of steamy, colorful, and stinky pools to wander around, the neon green pool with high concentrations of sulphur compounds was especially vivid. 

Champagne Pool's orange sides are from arsenic and antimony sulphur compounds

Devils Bath's neon green color comes from a high concentration of sulphur

We then drove for an hour and half northwest to Hamilton where we spent an hour walking around a small part of Hamilton Gardens, a sophisticated and brilliantly designed botanical garden that would be stunning during spring and early summer, and would deserve a full day to take in. 

We had dinner at Hayes Common, a local spot in a quiet Hamilton neighborhood where we enjoyed tasty food and craft beer. Have we mentioned how important good craft beer was to us? We then drove 45 minutes north to our favorite Airbnb in Te Kauwhata, where we had stayed 9 days prior.

e noho rā (Farewell)
Thu, Mar 2 
Our last day. Beautiful weather once again. Nothing on the itinerary other than our 5pm departure out of Auckland. We packed our bags in a leisurely way, had our last breakfast, and checked out of our fave Airbnb. 

We had a few hours to kill so I finally took the opportunity to visit Bunnings, one of the big home centers in NZ, akin to Home Depot. I’d always wanted to check one out but could never justify the diversion amidst the natural wonders competing for our time. So, I raced through a giant Auckland Bunnings and found that it was very similar to Home Depot (or Lowes) except everything was completely different. Lumber was metric, electrical and plumbing component design were alien, tools and hardware were vaguely familiar but not really, and the store was bigger and had more choices in all kinds of categories than the American stores. I was glad I didn’t have to make any decisions in there. 

With our remaining time, we drove up to Maraetai Beach where we enjoyed crystal clear water and views of Waiheke Island, and we played with shells on the sand. Sue waded into the water a final time. For now.

Final beach walk, on Maraetai Beach