Wellington - The Coolest Little Capital In The World

A Little History
Wellington is the capital of New Zealand, has around 200,000 inhabitants and is located at the southern tip of the North Island. The earliest Maori name for Wellington is Te Upoko o te Ika a Maui - which means ‘the head of Maui's fish’ - stemming from the Maori legend that polynesian navigator Maui fished up the North Island. Wellington takes its name after Arthur Wellesley (1769-1852), the first Duke of Wellington and victor of the Battle of Waterloo (1815).

We knew the RV park was right down town, but hadn't expected it being a paved parking lot.

It was, however, a very convenient location right next to the ferry to the South Island, and to attractions and shops. New Zealand is known as wine country, but they certainly make some great craft beers as well.

A former colleague from Tourism Vancouver had introduced me to a friend of hers living in Wellington, and we met with Sally. She was very hospitable, and took us on a beautiful drive around Wellington. The view from Victoria Hill.

We had a great lunch at the Crab Shed, and spent the rest of the day drinking wine and chatting at Sally's place. Sally is a facinating woman, and she runs an online company called AssistedWear, specializing in clothing and apparel for those facing physical challenges dressing.

We visited the museum of Wellington City & Sea, which is celebrating Wellington's social, cultural and maritime history. As well as the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa, which is the national museum, and very informative and interactive. 

They are turning the old port into a very nice waterfront area.

Sally had kindly invited us for dinner, she had cooked lamb for her and Andy, and fish for Dorte. Thank you for your hospitality, Sally.

This was a great finale for our time in Wellington, and on the North island for now.

Lazy Days On The West Coast, North Island, NZ

After a VERY good nights sleep after the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, we headed south west to Whanganui. We found a campground close to the beach, and relaxed.

We then headed further down the west coast to Kapiti, a beautiful area. 

At this campground we had our own toilet and shower in the little shed - luxury!

We enjoyed a glass of wine while watching the sunset.

Life is good!

Tongariro Alpine Crossing, NZ

A Little History
Tongariro National Park is located approximately in the middle of the North Island, and is a World Heritage area. The mountains of Tongariro are recognized as being central to the lives of the Iwi people who have historically occupied this area. The spiritual and cultural values are part of the landscape.

We stayed in the Whakapapa Village Holiday Park, and they arrange our transportation to and from the trail. The village is located at 1119m, and it was considerably colder at night than we had been used to. We did a 2 hour hike in the afternoon to get the legs going and explore the area.

It was a wonderful weather, but very cold at 7:00am the following morning, when we took the bus to the trail start of the 19.4km one way Tongariro Alpine Crossing (TAC). We had been warned that the wind speed would be around 60km/hr at the top, but the wind had already started picking up.

We started off with a gentle gradient climb alongside a stream and around edges of old lava flow. The lava has different colours; the younger lava is darker and absorbs much of the sun's heat - not that we could feel that at that time of the morning!

The track climbed steadily, gaining 340m up to the South Crater at the foot of Mt. Ngauruhoe. We crossed over two lava flows from eruptions in 1870 and 1975. 

We walked up the ridge, and started smelling sulphur from the Red Crater, which is still active. The red colour is from high temperature oxidation of iron in the rock - beautiful.

It was a struggle to get to the summit of the Red Crater, the highest point of the TAC at 1886m. The trail was steep, and the wind was very strong, pushing us sideways, with sand and small stone  flying around. This video was taken there while holding on to a sign due to the high winds:

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From there we descended steeply to the Emerald Lakes. Minerals leaching from the adjoining thermal area cause their brilliant color. These lakes freeze in winter.

Find Andy!

This is taken towards to summit, not an easy ascend due to the high winds and the loose lava.

The Red Crater and the latest lava flow, easy to see the black lava.

Then we started our descend back to civilization and the bus pick up, but it wasn't without danger..

and this is why...

The trail went right thorugh the active area,

and we had one more dangerous zone to walk through....

Trust me, we did move very quickly.

It was an amazing hike, and nothing like we have ever done before!

Waimangu Volcanic Valley - The World's Youngest Geothermal Area

This valley is located 14km south of Rotorua, on the North Island. Waimangu is the only hydrothermal system in the world, the commencement of whose surface activity can be pinned down to an exact day, namely June 10 1886. On that day a violent volcanic eruption punctured the country in this locality with a series of craters, and allowed geothermal fluid already present underground direct passage to the surface. The area looked like this just after the 1886 eruption.

This area is very important botanically because it is the only area in New Zealand where there has been the opportunity to record the re-establishment of a native forest following complete destruction of all plant life. This is what it looks like today; the photo is taken from the same spot.

We started our walk at the Frying Pan Lake, which is one of the world's largest hot springs covering 38,000 sq.m. It has an average depth of 6m and the water temperature is about 55C/131F, so a very appropriate name!

The sulphur smell was strong, the lake was bubbling, and the air was warm. 

We followed the trail along a steaming hot stream with beautiful colourings; we were not tempted to go off trail, as that could mean an instant third degree burn on the foot!

We reached the pale blue Inferno Crater Lake. Officially it was named 'Gateway to the Inferno' by the first surveyors, as the 1986 eruption started here, and it is the portal to the underworld. When full the lake is 30m deep, and the water temperature is 80C/176F.

These multi-coloured terraces are formed by the hot geothermal fluids cooling as the run across the surface of the ground.

We followed the Mt. Haszard Hiking Trail and reached the lake, where we were met by hundreds of black swans and other birds.

Then we boarded a boat on Lake Rotomahana, which has many hot springs discharging into the bottom of the lake. The lake emits about 500 tonnes of carbon dioxide gas every day, which indicates that the lake is more of an active volcanic crater than just a hydrothermal system. Interesting place to be sailing.

We a small geyser erupt,

and steaming cliffs created by hot water springs and steaming vents,

It was a fascinating visit, and we could almost feel the ground burn under our feet. 

On The Road Again ..... In A Spaceship

We have exchanged 'our' three bedroom bungalow in Auckland with a Spaceship called 'Slartibartfast', which is a character in movie The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Slartibartfast is a designer of planets, and his favourite job is to create coastlines, which is quite in line with our love of the ocean. So we will be flying low on the highways of southern New Zealand for the next five weeks!

Ta daaaaaaaaaa.....

The tarp on the back covers part of the bed, so we can have air coming in troughout the nights, and is easily packed away when driving.

It comes with bedding, a 25L water container, a mini-fridge, eating items for four people, pots and pans, dishcloths, table and two lawn chairs, a tarp to cover the cooking area, and a gas cooker. Everything has it's fixed spot in the car, and is easily stoved away under the bed. 

We spent the first of 36 nights in yesterday, and it will take a couple of days to get used to the small space, and to get organized.

A Day On Rangitoto Island

Rangitoto Island was born 600 years ago during a volcanic eruption, and it is the youngest volcano in. New Zealand.

Up early to get the early bird parking fee and the 7:30am early bird ferry. It was a beautiful morning, and a very nice 35 minutes ferry ride. Auckland skyline.

We started off walking the costal path along the west side of the island, 

and had to cross some lava fields.

Then we hiked to the top of the volcano, and had a great 360 degrees view of Auckland and sourroundings.

We then explored some lava caves,

had lunch in a cove,

and went for a swim.

We took the Costal Track back to the pier, but we only saw ocean the first and the last 15 minutes. The rest of the walk was on lava! Andy renamed it the Aouch and Ouch track as there was no give under our feet, and a lot of sharp lava stones.

We had done around 18km, and had to run for the ferry, but we had a wonderful day.

The Coromandel Peninsula - Good For Your Soul

Hahei

We had taken another three days off from our housesitting job. We drove a couple of hours east to Hahei. A beautiful and peaceful place with a population of 270 people in the winter and 7000 in the summer. Easy to see why!

Cathedral Cove

We did the beautiful coastal cliff top walk to get there.

We stopped at Gemstone Bay, where Andy snorkelled, and followed the self-guided snorkel trail.

We reached Cathedral Cove. It is named for its gigantic cathedral-like arched cavern, which gives the whole area an air of grandeur.

We stayed at Fernbird Backpackers just one road up from the beach, and had a lovely evening with a glass of wine on the beach.

Hot Water Beach

Hot Water Beach is quite extraordinary, and thus famous. For two hours on either side of low tide there is an area where 60-64C hot water oozes up from the ground. We borrowed a spade from the Fernbird, and started digging our own spa pool. The water had to be mixed with seawater to cool it down so we could sit in it. A fun experience after first taking a dip in the ocean!

Whitianga

We took a small passenger ferry to the quaint little town recommended to us by our good friend Mel Smith, who grew up in Auckland.

We followed Mel's recommendations and had some very tasty fish and chips at Flipper's,

and a beer at Smity's Sports Bar!

The Pinnacles

On the way home we did the 15km Pinnacles Track, which follows the old pack horse trails over the river and up the valley. The track was used in the good old days to bring supplies up to the millers and tree fellers, who cleared out hundreds of acres of kauri trees in the valleys. The big trees and the history of NZ logging are very similar to that of British Columbia. It is quite challenging. . . stone steps, wide enough for packhorses, dominate most of the track, crossing the river three times as it rises steeply to logging / power camp at the ‘near’ top. The stone stairs are great to look at but hard on the legs! 

Whilst not dangerous, it isn’t for the faint hearted to climb the last kilometre from the hut to the top at 770m (2100ft). We went up some steep rock faces, several ladders 

before negotiating a large boulder, to get to the narrow ledge at the top. Andy was proud to have made it, given his fear of heights!

The view was breathtaking.

It was a quiet drive home! 

It was interesting to note that all our activities on this trip were on the list '102 Things That Every Kiwi Must Do In Their LifeTime'.

This was our last overnight get-away while housesitting, as we have rented a camper-tent-style vehicle, called a Spaceship, to take us south from January 25th to the first of March.