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Published: January 25th 2006
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Hello all you intrepid readers of Benji and Abby's blog. Here is the latest installment from the travelers.
First off an apology from Benji: There are no stories about the cute kids I let you all down😞
Okay now where have we been let's see:
Well we tried to leave Tauranga the last location that we updated the blog from, only to find that Benji had leftthe lights on and killed the tiny battery that was in our van. We expected this would happen sooner or later so we quickly hopped in a cab and made3 it to an auto parts store just before closing. We purchased the correct size battery for our van and headed across a bridge to a little town called Mt. Marangui (actually a suburb of Tauranga). This town turned out to be really cool with a great surf beach and a real Santa Cruz feel. There was free parking right on the beach and except for the street lights (whoch we were able to block out with some fancy curtain action) and the street cleaners (no remedy for this, these things are scary when the wake you up at 5am) the location was
Tramping Trailhead
At this point we did not realize that 16km is 10 miles. ideal. The first day in Mt. Managanui we scouted out an Auto repair shop because we were having troubles with the starter that we though may have been battery related, but alas, something was awry.
The mechanic could not see us until the next day so we hunkered down at the beach and had a lovely day (except for the minor sunburn). Yes parents we did use 30 sunblock put it was the cheap variety so we learned our lesson and shelled out the big bucks for the good stuff.
The next morning we awoke and headed to the mechanic, on the way there the car started doing funnier things. We would press the gas and she would sputter and die. Aftwer some pushing and aggravation we finally got the car to the mechanic. Then we had to wait. We packed up our small bags and headed out on foot. Many hours later we learned it was some faulty wire connections and the whole kit and caboodle only cost us about $120NZ. Now Foxy Roxy is back in tip top shape. Yeah!
So off we went from Mt. Manganui to the smelly volcanic realm of Rotorua. What
Whirinaki Hut
This was our wonderful reward. a freakin' tourist trap this tyown was. We paid for parking and booked it to the Map and Track shope where we learned about a 3 day hike we could do in a beautiful forest about 2 hours from town. We stocked up on supplies and head to a holiday park fo rthe night. The holiday park was on the eedge of town and had Hot Springs of course. The hot pools were reat and we did some laundry in preparation for our "tramp" (this is what Kiwis call hiking).
The next morning we saddled up Roxy and headed toward the trail. As this trailhead is located very close to a small Maori village where 99.9% of the people are unemployed we were advised not to park atthe trail head. We met up with a nice fellow named Gary who let us park our car at his house and shuttled us to the trail. With Roxy in a safe location we hit the trail with enthusiasm.
We were instantly overwhelmed by a lush green wonder land. The forest was truly impressive as was the Whirinaki river which were hiking along. I have never seen such a fast flowing
Carvings on Lake Taupo
The carvings may only be 25 years old but they sure are cool and it was fun to get on a sailboat, even if we mostly motored. river. About 2 hours into the tramp we came to a trail split that led to what was supposed to be our first destination. About 100ft down the trail we came to our first "creek" crossing. This was no creek in our mind and the ferocity of the stream was enough to turn us away. We decide to change our route and head to the hut that we were meant to spend our second night in. This turned out to be a great decision. When we arrived a total of 6 hours after we started our hike we were greeted by a lovely hut and four occupants.
Note to all travelers: 1mile = 1.6km A 16km route ios a 10mile hike. This is lesson that should not be learned on the trail, but hey we like to do things the hard way.
Exhausted and with soar feet we were happy to find that the accomodations at the hut were better than those at Wilderland farm. To add to the quality of this experience there were two really friendly German travelers who were working as the hut wardens. We soon made friends and we planned a day hike for the next day. Before bed we played card and talked till midnight.
Day two of our tramp was a day hike out to a really large cave that was carved out of a pumice deposit by the mighty Whirinaki river. By the end of this hike my eyes had finally adjusted to the lush green colors and I could truly appreciate the beauty. We shared dinner with the Germans and then taught them how to roast marshmallows. We had a blast and went to bed early.
Day three we hiked out. It was a beautiful day after a night of heavy rain and we were pleased that we did not get soaked on the hike. We were picked up at the appointed time and taken back to our car. We hopped in Roxy and headed out towards Taupo where we are now. We are off to explore some volcanic wonders and then we are heading back up to Auckland for my second Hepatitus shot. After that we will be going to WWOOF with a couple on Hokianga Harbor in the north. This should be grea fun as we will be helping them renovate their home.
That's all for now more adventures are sure to come.
Much love Abby and Benji😊
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