Advertisement
Published: January 10th 2010
P1010002
Scenes driving from Wellington to Wanganui. - This will be the last blog we'll do while in New Zealand although we may do a final one once we land in LA where we spend two days before returning to Jackson, MS. We've thoroughly enjoyed reading the comments that many of you have left on our blog. Please keep them coming as we're not home yet! We really enjoyed hearing about the updates on activities and weather back home.
Tongariro Crossing Suggestion - If you’re planning on doing the Tongariro Crossing on the North Island (we highly suggest it), we have several suggestions for you. Plan on getting to the shuttle pick-up area about 15 minutes before the scheduled time. Then use this valuable time to locate the restroom at the pickup area so your bladder is completely empty. That way when the bus drops you off at the beginning of the track, you won't have to wait in the loooooong line of people waiting to go to the only two toilets there and you can get a jump on 60%!o(MISSING)f the people. Keep in mind that the next toilet after the first one is about 45 minutes down the
track and it is a 10-minute return trip back to the track - another 20%!o(MISSING)f the people peel off at this point. If you’re bladder is empty before boarding the bus to the track start, you’re in good shape to go until you reach the third toilet about 3.5 hours up the track. Also, don't think you can just hide behind a tree or tall bushes along the track to do your business as there are none on this track. Carry a nice heavy duty rain jacket and rain pants in case the alpine weather changes for the worst (and it often does), sunglasses, camera and spare battery, some good high energy hiking food, liter and a half of water per person, good hat, sun-block and boots (hello people - no tennis shoes or jandals/flipflops for this one) and a mini first-aid kit just in case. We also carried a headlamp, binoculars and topo map.
Time to Sell Stuff - We have only a few days remaining in New Zealand and we've been selling off some equipment that we purchased when we arrived. We established an account on -
TradeMe (New Zealand's answer to Ebay) and have already
P1050360
Scenes from our 6 hour hike on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing sold our tarp, tarp poles, ice chest, storage boxes, solar shower, two-burner stove and LPG bottle. So we have now recovered 60%!o(MISSING)f our initial equipment purchases using TradeMe. That only leaves our Nissan station wagon which we hope to sell in Auckland.
Work Needed Back Home - We are down to only a few days here in New Zealand and moving soon towards Auckland where we'll fly out for home. I hope friends back in Clinton are saving up some special house fixup projects for Larry to do as I need some money to help pay for our next overseas trip. So seriously start making a list of handyman projects you need done so I can start making some $$$'s soon after getting back. Not sure about Rhea's plans for work as she's starting to really enjoy this new life of leisure.
Picton to Napier 1-1-10 - Friday - We started touring the South Island of New Zealand at Picton and we ended our adventure of discovery of the South Island in Picton as well. When 4:00am was near, we cranked up our car and headed for the ferry check-in area for the 4:00am check-in for
P1010005
Scenes driving from Wellington to Wanganui. the 5:00am ferry. Since we had time to kill awaiting driving our car on board we got on-line using our Vodafone wireless device and checked e-mails for 30 minutes till time to board.
The boarding on the Blue Ridge ferry went easily and we proceeded up to the passenger cabin decks after parking the car. The trip would take about 3.5 hours so Rhea spent most of the crossing catching up on sleep. I took the opportunity to check out the ferry and go up stairs to the Observation Deck to see the South Island for the last time. It takes about 1 hour for the ferry to pass through the Queen Charlotte Sound from Picton to the Cook Strait that separates the two islands. About 5:55am I was treated with a wonderful sight - the first sunrise of the New Year. I thought it was a big deal since New Zealand is one of the first land masses to see the sunrise of a new day since it lies so near the International Dateline. What a great sight is was so I awoke Rhea and she got to see parts of it as well - then immediately went
P1010009
Scenes driving from Wellington to Wanganui. back to sleep. I stayed up and watched the South Island slowly slip away in the distance and watched as the southwestern tip of the North Island slowly nibble away at the view of the South Island land mass until it was no longer there. We spent 7 outstanding weeks on the South Island and had a fabulous time there - now it has disappeared overtaken by the North Island scenery. The crossing on the Cook Strait was fairly good although the massive ferry dampened a bit the size of the waves. The waves we were told were about 2 to 3 meters but you could really tell how big the waves were when a 50 foot sailing boat passed near the ferry headed to the South Island and was being tossed around like a small toy in the big strait. To sail in these water across this dangerous strait takes some sure sailing skill by the Kiwis - something for which they are known to do well.
We finally made it to Wellington - about 8:15am - and drove our car off the ferry and made our way out of the city. Wellington seems to be a very
beautiful city, but for a driver who is use to the right side of the road, Wellington can be stressful because everyone is in a hurry, the streets are narrow and there are a lot of one-way streets. So we headed north along the west coast towards Wanganui. We made a few stops along the way to take pictures but for the most part kept north and arrived in Wanganui in the mid-afternoon at the Castlecliffs Holiday Park. After setting up camp, we headed down to the beach and checked that out. The wind was tearing down the coastline so our stay at the beach was short. Being sandblasted was not on the agenda for the day. We headed over to their gardens and that was ultimately a great idea since for a medium size city, they had a very good gardens and lake area. We saw a lot of birds, flowers and people.
1-2-10 - Saturday - On our way out of Wanganui we checked out a few of the hot-spots that Lonely Planet suggested. The Glass Studio was closed on Saturdays so we missed out on that, but the Saturday Market was in full swing. We enjoyed
P1010012
Scenes driving from Wellington to Wanganui. Gardens in Wanganui that market and purchased some fruit and vegetables which were a bargain as opposed to the grocery store. We made our way around the coastline towards New Plymouth. This is a fairly large city - perhaps 50,000 - but mostly commercial and port city. We stayed at the holiday park near the port, took a walk down to the port area and watched some of the locals catching various types of fish including Snapper and one starfish. Quite a lot of fishing action going on. Our plans were to just pass through New Plymouth and head towards Mt. Teranaki which on a semi clear day is a beautiful site to behold. An almost perfect volcanic cone and snow capper year round.
1-3-10 - Sunday - We departed New Plymouth with expectations of staying in the National Park near Mt. Teranaki. The weather was not going to cooperated for us. The weather forcast was for clouds, cooling temperatures and possible heavy rains late afternoon and night then showers on Monday. So we made a trip up to the North Visitor Center, and did a walk there but saw nothing of the mountain as it was covered in clouds. So we
P1010013
Scenes driving from Wellington to Wanganui. Gardens in Wanganui headed east to the East Visitor Center. The weather there believe it or not was much better but the upper peak of the mountain was still mostly covered in clouds but teased us for about an hour making us think it would just clear away. Not going to happen but we took photos anyway. So we traveled further east from the Teranaki region. The weather to the east was much nicer and clear. We made our way up the Forgotten World Highway. If in the area, take a trip along this road as the scenery is very good and there is just no developments, houses or hardly any sign of life for 40 miles or so. One spot in the road is The Republic of Whangamomona - interesting story here but you’ll have to read about it on the Internet. We arrived at the DOC campground at Ohinepane which overlooks the Wanganui River. This campsite is one that is used by canoist who are paddling down the river on the Wanganui journey—considered a great walk in New Zealand. This was a great campsite, hardly anyone there and free at that. The noise caused by the rapids below was just what
P1010015
Scenes driving from Wellington to Wanganui. Gardens in Wanganui the doctor called for as it helped put us asleep.
[b[1-4-10 - Monday - During the night the rains came but by 7:30am they just stopped and allowed us to have a leisure morning breakfast without being wet. Unfortunately we had to put up a wet tent - dry for us inside - just soaking wet on the outside and having to put it in the bags wet - yuk. Our plans were to make our way over to Tongariro National Park which we had seen weeks earlier on our journey but too cold then to do any walks. Now was different as summer was just getting started. We arrived at the Visitor Center at Tongariro NP and checked on the two hikes we wanted to do. We spent the rest of the day hiking a 2.5 hour loop to a waterfall - very nice and then headed to a nearby DOC campground where we would stay for two days.
1-5-10 - Tuesday - We got up really early on Tuesday - about 5:55am - and ate a quick breakfast and made our way over to the Visitor Center to catch the 7:00am shuttle for the track starting
P1010016
Scenes driving from Wellington to Wanganui. Gardens in Wanganui area for the Tongariro Crossing Tramp. This hike is not for those who just enjoy a nice walk in the park. It is a 7 to 8 hour hike (18.8 kilometers or 12 miles) with two major up hill climbs of 750 feet and 600 feet with two other 150 foot climbs mixed in along the way. This was a very unique alpine climb for us as it takes you past two major volcanoes - Mt. Tongariro and Mt. Ngauruhoe (Mt Doom in Lord of the Rings). The track is busy with probably well over 500 people on the track during the day. So we got the early start and ultimately pushed ahead of the crowd and pretty much hiked with the front 5 to 10% which was pleasant. Ultimately we managed to do the hike in just under 6 hours and the views were really outstanding all along the way. We ended the day at Eivin’s Cafe at National Park. Excellent choice for dining and I think the owner is big into music by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons as we had about 10 songs in a row during our visit there. This was a great place to
P1010017
Scenes driving from Wellington to Wanganui. A new project idea. have some good food and beer to finish off a great day after hiking in Tongariro National Park. Highly suggest Eivin’s Café!!
1-6-10 & 1-7-10 - Wednesday to Thursday - We spent the next couple of days traveling away from Tongariro National Park to Waitomo Caves and back to the Lake Taupo area. Waitomo Caves which is about 2 to 2.5 hours northwest of Tongariro NP was a location we had wanted to visit because of the Lost World Adventure trip. We saw this on the CBS show The Amazing Race and knew we had to do this. It is a 300 foot abseil (descent by ropes) into a very large cave - see photos. Our two guides took the eight of us signed up for the adventure to the location of the cave. There we were given some safety instructions, outfitted into harnesses, helmets, etc. We then took a short tour of the above area of the cave and given some background of the discovery of it and the other many caves in this region - over 1000 caves in a 50 kimomter radius. We were then taken to the platform where you hang out 300 feet -
P1010028
Scenes driving from Wellington to Wanganui. Gardens in Wanganui 100 meters above the floor of the cave where there is also a small river flowing. It was a incredible sight plus we would be lowering ourselves down the rope and viewing the cave upclose. It takes about 30 minutes to get to the bottom then another 1.5 hours to walk out the cave system back to the top. If you are anywhere near this location - about 2 hours south of Auckland - you have to work this trip into your schedule. A must see and do when in New Zealand. Check out their website at -
Waitomo Adventures We ended the day camping out at a DOC campground between there and Lake Taupo. This was also a good site as we were the only campers there and quite peaceful.
1-8-10 - Friday - We got on the road to Napier where our friends Jeanne and Magnus live. So not much in the blog regarding this stay since it was just a time to slow down from all the traveling we've been doing and just unwind a bit. While there we plan on doing some additional car maintenance work so we can sell our car in Auckland prior to
P1010029
Scenes driving from Wellington to Wanganui. Gardens in Wanganui departing NZ.
We'll spend several days here in Napier then depart and head north to one more National Park and possibly to the Coromandel Peninsula for one last beach stay and finally to Auckland. Cheers!!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.248s; Tpl: 0.02s; cc: 10; qc: 57; dbt: 0.0775s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Rhonda
non-member comment
Hurry Home!
We have missed y'all! Can't wait until you're safe at home with us! Have enjoyed every minute of your trip right along with you! Bundle up - it is cold in Jackson. See you soon! Rhonda :-)