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Published: November 23rd 2009
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Huka Falls near Lake Taupo
Picton, Nelson and Abel Tasman National Park - South Island 1. Hiking on the Trails in New Zealand -Guess what side of the trail the New Zealanders and Aussies walk on. Well the left side since they drive on the left side of the road in their cars. When we got on the trail I told Rhea to stay left when meeting someone on the trail. This got somewhat complicated as so many Europeans were walking on that same side coming towards us since they drive on the opposite side of the road than NZ. So it is a bit laughable when you’re on the trail hiking like New Zealanders but keep encountering others who don’t know that you should keep to the left.
2. Lodging Costs for our Trip - At this writing, we are averaging about $27.00 NZ per night lodging for the two of us or $20.00 US. Thanks in part to staying at Jeannie and Magnus’s house in Napier and Lorraine’s house in Rotoura (found Lorraine using www.couchsurfing.com). Friends like them definitely help keep our lodging cost to a manageable amount and we hope to return the favor
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Upper Huka Falls to them if they or family members travel to the States and need a place to stay.
3. Petrol Cost in New Zealand - This has not been a cheap place to buy fuel for the car. We are averaging somewhere around $1.62/liter. Someone check this for me but I think that works out to just over $6.00/gallon. Ouch!!!!! and we complain about gas prices in the States?? Come travel here for a few weeks.
4. New Zealand Charcoal and Grilling - It is quite obvious in our travels here that instant light charcoal (Match Light brand) has not made any strides into the markets here in New Zealand. We found no places where we could find any instant light charcoal (went to numerous locations) and had to buy some really strange looking charcoal chunks in a bag at one site in their grilling section. Then when we asked for some charcoal lighter fluid they directed us to some small 6 oz containers of fluid. Give me a break!!! In fact the bag says use 1 cup of fluid to get the charcoal started. So MatchLight in the States needs to market their instant start charcoal here. Several
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Huka Falls near Lake Taupo of the stores and hardwares had never heard of instant light charcoal. This NZ charcoal is really a joke and if they ever use the American instant light charcoal they’ll never go back. Two NZ campers we ran into had also never heard of the instant light charcoal that is sold in the States. They said you have to put some dry sticks, etc. under the charcoal to get it started. Can someone please ship us some Matchlight Charcoal from the States???
5. Mass Murderers - Well camping has so many positives but one negative we've had on more times than we like are tent campers and campervans pulling right up next to our campsite when there is a whole area of vacant campground around. What gives?? Are we attracting people because we're such an attractive couple, look friendly, have plenty of alcohol, what???? We are thinking of putting a BIG sign on our car that says MASS MURDERS - Keep a Safe Distance!!! I'm starting to think of some polite but direct language we can say to people that pull up next to us when soooooo much other room is available. I'll bet some of you can give
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Huka Falls near Lake Taupo us some ideas. Lucian - what would you say or would you just shoulder your handgun where they could see it. Give us your comments.
11-9-09 - Monday we departed from Napier towards Lake Taupo that lies about 130 kilometers to the northwest of Napier over the mountain range. This was not a fast trip due to the curves and hills you have to travel on to get to Taupo. This was a very pretty drive though and some wonderful views along the way. Definitely worth all the curves and hills. Due to the time of year we were visiting, Lake Taupo was not as busy as it would normally be so we had a good visit of the area. The main attraction for us was Huka Falls just north of the city. The river from Lake Taupo exits from the northern section of the lake and travels northerly and enters the Tasman Sea to the southwest of Auckland. Water leaving the lake passes through a narrow passage several kilometers north of the town. Within several hundred yards the river picks up speed very quickly and then cascades over a drop perhaps 25 feet high - not sure.
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Yet another Escape Van in New Zealand. Definitely worth a short drive to see this and it’s all within 15 minutes walk to see both the upper river prior to entering the narrows and Huka Falls.
We spent some time wondering around Taupo to see what all they have there. Lake Taupo is well known for its world-class trout fishing both on the lake and the river and streams that feed into the lake. They had a great I-Site. Nearly all communities of some size have I-Sites where you can drop in, get brochures of things to do in the area and ask questions or even book trips/activities. New Zealand has the I-Sites down to an art and are a travelers gold mine with all the information they provide you.
Once we saw some things in Taupo, we then headed south around the east shore of the lake headed to Tokaanu on the southwest shore. Here we stayed in Jeannie’s holiday house for the night, went to the Tokaanu Thermal Pools just down the street for a thermal bath. You could stay in the thermal pools for 20 minutes for about $6.00/person (public) or private pool for about $10.00/20 minutes and it’s quite enjoyable. We also
watched a couple of movies back at the house that were stored on our travel hard drive and then hit the sack for a good night sleep prior to the drive south to Wellington at the bottom of the North Island.
11-10-09 - Tuesday we hit the road running since it was a three or more hour drive to Wellington plus we were going to visit Tongariro National Park briefly. Tongariro Park is the home of Mt. Tongariro, Mt. Ngauruhoe and Mt. Ruapehu. Mt. Ruapehu is the most active volcano of the three erupting about every 3 to 5 years. Our plans are to get familiar with this volcanic park since we are planning on doing a couple of hikes when the weather is right on our return back north (when it is warmer!!). We skirted the western edge of the park on Hwy. 47 and then the southern edge on Hwy. 49 (outstanding views of all three volcanoes) where we took the main route into the snow covered Mt. Ruapehu. Snow skiing season had just completed when we arrived at Ruapehu (longer season this year - not surprising to us) but there was still plenty of snow on
the upper peaks. We checked out the visitors center and the ski area at Ruapehu, hiked up to one of the sites where several of the scenes from the Lord of the Rings were shot (took pictures of course) and then had a very nice lunch at the ski area. While there we got more information on the two hikes we would do on the return trip including Tongariro Crossing and Lower and Upper Tama Lakes Hike. These two long day hikes (8 hour and 5 hour) would carry us along several of the volcanic mountains and allow us to get a feel for the volcanic terrain and vegetation. We’ll do those hikes in early January.
We left Tongariro NP and headed south on Hwy. 1 towards Wellington. We stopped in at the small town of Foxton that had some interesting sites to visit and we needed to get out of the car and stretch as well. We also stopped along the way at a small bee farm right next to the highway just south of the Foxton area where they sold honey and other things. Great honey and very inexpensive plus the staff was very nice. Definitely worth
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Views in Tongarario Natioal Park - North Island a stop. We were very low on NZ honey and purchased a couple of bottles there along with some Butterscotch Liquor. With the sun dropping rapidly in the sky and Wellington still perhaps an hour a way we chose to pull into an unexpected, very small and inexpensive motor camp at Otaki. Nice place, but nothing fancy and all for $20.00.
11-11-09 - Wednesday we got on the road from Otaki and headed to Wellington, New Zealand’s capital. Finally after 4 weeks on the road throughout the North Island of New Zealand we finally made it to Wellington at the very bottom of the North Island. We arrived around 9:30am and checked out a couple of places in town for a hostel stay, but many were booked for the night - a bit troubling but not yet a time for worrying. So we phoned the local Top 10 Holiday Park about 15 kilometers from Wellington and they had space and we headed their way. The campground was near the harbor but well around the harbor to the east of Wellington but great views. This is an extremely nice holiday park and well worth the $40/night we had to pay
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Views in Tongarario Natioal Park - North Island plus the information they provided us was money in the bank. Once we got out gear settled, we hopped back into the car and traveled back over to Wellington and parked in the Te Papa Museum on Cable Street. Our advice to travelers coming to Wellington for a days visit is to park your car at the museum all day ($12 a great deal!) and tour the museum and city from this point. Now we think the car parking was an after thought in the planning and construction of the museum because the covered parking was not that big although they had some parking on the outside for campervans, etc. We spent about 3 hours in the museum but could have spent 3 days there!! This was an outstanding museum and the fee?? $0. The exhibits were world class, stunning, educational, enjoyable and on 4 floors. Plan to spend 2 days in Wellington and 1 of those days at this museum - you’ll enjoy it! We left the museum in spitting rain and ate lunch at Macs Brewery along the harbor. The beer and lunch hit the spot with the only drawback being a 6 month old baby screaming at
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Views in Tongarario Natioal Park - North Island
Mt. Ngauruhoe or Mt. Doom in Lord of the Rings. the top of his/her lungs part of the time so we moved to the far extreme end to reduce the impacts on our ears. We then headed through the city to the Wellington Cable Car. This was a deal at $3.00/person and carries you up to a city overlook and to the Botanical Gardens where you can then take an hour or so walking down through the park back to city center. Great views of the city from the top and beautiful gardens as well. We took photos of the Parliament Building and the Beehive (Govt. Office Building) before making our way back to the car and then back to the campground. We fixed dinner and watched a movie on the laptop (A League of Their Own) before hitting the sack for a good night sleep.
11-12-09 - Thursday we got up really early because we had booked an 8:00am ferry to the South Island. We finally stopped into a McDonald’s to get a breakfast to go since they were open at 6:00am and we were on the road too early to make our own breakfast.
We had several options to getting to Picton on the South Island
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Lord of the Rings shot in this area of Tongariro N.P. - taking the Inter-Island Ferry or the Blueridge Ferry. Both ferries go to the same place in Picton, but depart from slightly different times and locations in the Wellington Harbour. We took the Blueridge because we got a slightly lower ticket price - about $25.00 less. The ferry ride is about 4 hours from the time you depart the port dock at Wellington to arrival at the dock at Picton. The journey is mostly through sheltered waters but about an 1 ½ is on the Cook Strait which can be a very rough crossing. Our crossing was actually more of a dicey ride just out of the Wellington Harbor and actually easier on the strait. The best part of the journey is once you enter Queen Charlotte Sound. We encountered dolphins on the ride in and they joined us for part of the way. Captain Cook also named this sound as well. It is one of these rare sounds that is deep, long and with a lot of inlets that can shelter many boats from the rough seas on the outside of the sound. This must have been a great safe haven for the early ships visiting NZ in the
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Lord of the Rings shot in this area of Tongariro N.P. 1700s and thereafter.
We arrived in Picton, drove our car off the ferry and found the Picton I-Site, gathered information, ate at a Scottish Pub called the Flying Haggis. Great food and drinks - a must stop when in Picton!! We did some walking around Picton for several hours, then headed to a small DOC camping site about 10 miles to the west. There we set up our tent, walked along one of the many protected inlets off Queen Charlotte and had a nice afternoon hanging out here.
11-12-09 - Friday we drove to the west towards Havelock but stopped off at a overlook just east of Havelock. Great views of Havelock from the short hiking trail (10-15 minutes). When we arrived in Havelock we ate lunch at the Slip Inn on the marina. We ate mussels cooked in white wine, garlic and other herbs. We suggest this location because of the scenery at the marina and price was very good. We also purchased some mussels at the Four Square store in Havelock for dinner that night. By the way, Havelock is the Green Lipped Mussel capital of the world and you cannot beat the prices. Buy some
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Views in Tongarario Natioal Park - North Island and steam them for lunch or dinner. We then headed off to Nelson about 2 hours west with our fresh mussels.
We again checked out the Nelson I-Site, checked in with the DOC staff there regarding our hike at Abel Tasman NP, then went ahead and reserved a water taxi service from the end of the trek back to the start. Since you walk in about 28 miles from the beginning of the trail to one of the last camping sites, you need to get back to where you started from since it is not a look trail. Two or three companies provide that service for backpackers and day hikers. Once we finished making these arrangements, we took some time and walked around Nelson, went to the Founders Heritage Park for their Friday Afternoon Market (very nice) where we bought some goodies, then went to the Miyazu Japanese Gardens, returned to Founders Heritage Park to the Founders Brewery for a beer. This brewery we learned is the first certified organic brewery in New Zealand. That’s ok but we were after the beer and the fact it was organic brewed - well perhaps a plus. We left the brewery and
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Views in Tongarario Natioal Park - North Island went to the Botanical Reserve and ascended the Botanical Hill to the Geographic Center of New Zealand. This look out has a great view of Nelson and a good hike (round trip of 35 minutes). We finally ended up at the motor camp about 6 miles to the west of Nelson but close enough to come back into the city for short excursions.
We met two travelers from Athens, Georgia in the kitchen at the Motor Camp. Had a short conversation with them while we fixed and ate dinner. We also watched another video from my computer/travel hard drive - One Fine Day - before hitting the sack for the night.
11-14-09 - Saturday we packed up from the motor camp heading to the Saturday Market in Nelson. On the way our cell phone rang but we had no idea where it was amongst our gear. After 10 minutes looking for it, we gave up till we got to our next campsite near the Abel Tasman NP. We did finally find the cell phone in our toiletry kit but neither of us could figure out why it ended up there. Anyway it was Jeannie calling to see where
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Views in Tongarario Natioal Park - North Island we were and just checking up on us. What a friend!
The Saturday Market in Nelson was extremely enjoyable. It happens every Saturday rain or shine and we caught it on a nice sunny day. This market is well worth the visit as they have lots of vegetables, arts and crafts, cooked food, music, etc. If you come to Nelson, plan it so you can catch this market. We of course bought some stuff then headed out of Nelson for Abel Tasman NP. It took us about 1 ½ hours to get there from Nelson to Marahau on the edge of the NP. We stayed at the Marahau Motor Camp which also provides a water taxi service for trampers needing a lift from the end of the hike back to Marahau. Well worth the $82 NZ for 2 people plus you see parts of the park from the water after you have completed your long hike.
We pretty much packed our backpacks that night for the trip and fixed dinner that included steak, potatoes and veggies.
11-15-09 to 11-18-09 - Sunday to Wednesday in Abel Tasman National Park - We had several day of really good weather in
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Views in Tongarario Natioal Park - North Island Abel Tasman NP. Only Wednesday morning did we run into rain. The information states that the hike/tramp is “Easy” but we feel that part of that classification is impacted by the Water Taxis carrying “day trippers” into the park to hike two or three hours of the trail system. Rhea felt the trail should be rated a bit more difficult like “Moderately Easy with Numerous Ascents” but if the written material said this, it might scare off the “Day Trippers” which the Water Taxis would complain about. Many of the backpackers we encountered agreed that walking times did not really include stopping and photo taking, etc. If the hike from one hut to the next was 4 hours as noted on the signs by the park, plan on 5 hours.
In either case we hiked about 8 miles the first day, 9 miles the second day, 8 miles the third day and 2.5 miles the fourth day. They call the stretch we did the Coastal Track but this is a bit misleading if you expect to be hiking right near the beach the entire time. There is quite a bit of inland hiking where you are climbing out of
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Views in Tongarario Natioal Park - North Island one bay area ascending to see the views and then descending to the next bay. We stayed in DOC campgrounds at each of the three locations along the way although we could have stayed in DOC Huts that provide bunk beds but twice the price of the campgrounds. Several people chose to go with the huts so they didn’t have to bring a tent and sleeping pads. Either way, you have to book these locations in advance no matter what. The facilities are very well kept, drinking water provided at each of the locations, and areas provided for campers and Hut users to cook, though you have to bring your own camping stove.
We met some interesting people along the way including a two people from Belgium, numerous Germans, a solo hiker from Israel, a hiker from Wales and two from Denmark. Very diverse group of backpackers along the way. Then there were the young New Zealanders who we met on the second night at Bark Bay who had sailed into the bay and continuing on further north. They had not of course brought enough food so fortunately they were good at fishing - two whom brought wet suits,
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Views in Tongarario Natioal Park - North Island spear guns, etc. They brought into the campground some nice crayfish (see photos) and cooked the crayfish and mussels on the fire. The stories they told on themselves kept us laughing most of the night till it was time to hit the sack. One story by Will was of their illegal outing to headlight deer. We told them it was illegal in the States, not something they should continue plus dangerous as well. They agreed but said they didn’t see any deer but a small heard of possums! Well spot lighting possums seemed like a good idea they thought and one possum just stood there looking at the light, so Will got the idea to come in behind the possum while the light was being shined on it. He then gave it a boot (kick) and it jumped forward but stayed watching the light. Then he gave it another kick and it turned around and started chasing him. At that point they realized possums could run with great speed. Ultimately catching Will and climbing up his leg. Will explained this was not the experience he was after and finally managed to get the wild animal off vowing not to do
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Route 66 Restaruant in Foxton heading towards Wellington that activity again. They broke out is some music later in the night with one having a guitar while the others attempted some form of singing.
Abel Tasman NP is quite different today than when I hiked it some 22 years ago. The trails seem to be worn more of course, there were practically no day hikers back then as there are today. I would guess that 85% of the people we met along the way were day users out for a two to four hour hike. The water taxis set them off at one bay and then pick them up at another bay. Personally I thought the majority of the day hikers looked like they were late for their afternoon soap opera on TV or the 5:00 pub call. They just hurried along the trail and the backpackers seemed to be obstacles in their way out of the park.. Many of them could also be taught how to share the trail and to walk single file when coming onto other hikers. The trail in Abel Tasman is just wide enough for two people to pass so you need to be respectful of others coming from the other direction.
The trip went well as we had good weather and saw some incredibly fine views of numerous bays along the way, plus some fine bushwalking in between. Rhea was always amazed at how beautiful the water was. The color is this beautiful blue-green. You also have to plan your hike with some attention to tides. Three of the trails are impacted by high tides, one minimally (it has a high tide route of only 10 minutes longer than the low tide route - Bark Bay) while two others can delay you as much as 6 hours if you don’t pay attention to the low and high tide charts. The last day we had to get up early and cross the bay before 7:00am or be caught by the incoming tide and stranded for 6 hours. We were successful in that although the rain during the night left us walking through two knee deep creeks feeding the bay but otherwise we had no problem with the crossing. The rain continued that morning for about one hour of the two hours of our final day hike. Fortunately, as good backpackers as we are, we had rain gear and pack covers to keep
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Scenes in Foxton, NZ heading towards Wellington. our gear and us reasonably dry. We thought it was funny that the only tent campers - us - were up and on the bay crossing before any of the 14 other backpackers who had stayed in the nice dry shelter of the DOC hut. Overall the Abel Tasman track was outstanding and is worth the effort you have to expend making this hike.
We finished the track by catching the water taxi (boat that holds 12 to 18 people and gear) back to where we started so we could get back to our car at the motor camp. Once we got back to our car, we did a bit of cleaning up, said good bye to our friends we met from Germany and Belgium and then headed back into Nelson for some other business and checked back into the motor camp we had stayed previously.
When we got back to Nelson we also bought us several items we desperately needed for the trip. A 5 meter extension cord and a Solar Shower. Places we are staying just do not have electrical outlets on the walls like we have back in the states. In some cases it is rare
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Scenes in Foxton, NZ heading towards Wellington. to find two electrical outlets in a very large room and that makes hooking up your computer to charge it or any other electrical device difficult. So we purchased a 5 meter cord and strip outlet so we’re ready for wherever we find an outlet. We also got tired of dropping $2.00 coins into a hot shower coin machine to get hot water at the shower. So we purchased a 3 liter Solar Shower, fill it with their hot water from the sink, then hang it up in the shower from one of generally several places and we have our free hot water shower. Also it will come in handy at the DOC campgrounds where they provide cold water showers only. You fill it with water set it in the sun for three hours and bingo you have hot water for a shower. Chuck and Lola I know use these and I’m sure some of our other camping friends know the importance of having one on a trip when hot showers are not available at campgrounds.
Where to Next??? - Some of the photos here at the end show some areas we have already been to but no text PB110010
Exterior of Te Papa Museum in Wellington - this includes portions of the Golden Bay Region. We are presently in Westport on the West Coast of the South Island. We are either heading north to the Heaphy Track or south to Greymouth and then Arthur's Pass. We'll send out another blog in about a week. Happy Thanksgiving to all our family and friends back in the States.
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Jim Trunzler
non-member comment
More great photos
Larry and Rhea, Thanks for sharing NZ with me. I'm enjoying the commetary and photos of your travels. I hope you have a great Thanksgiving. Jim