Travel Map

An update of our travels.......................

Tube It

While in Waitomo you have to take a tour to explore the glow worm caves. You can take a leisurely walk, or a quiet boat ride......

 ......but instead we decided to Tube It!!

You get kitted up with a wet suit, helmet with head torch and a black inner tube ring.. They take you down into the cave and explain the Maori stories behind them, while swimming through the black waters. There were five of us in our group with our Maori guide Rodney.

While holding onto the feet of the person behind you, we were pulled by our guide through the black waters in complete darkness while looking up at the glow worms. It was really special, just like stars. But the whole time you can hear a waterfall in the background....

On reaching the waterfall you jump off backwards while sitting in your tube! I tipped too far and ended up with a mouthful, nosefull and facefull of water lol

You then have to pull yourself through the water using ropes attached to the walls of the caves. And the water was absolutely freezing I should add!

 And then the bit I was dreading, the steep slide into pitch blackness!!

But I did it!! Stuart enjoyed it a lot more than me, but it was a much more interesting way to see the glow worms.

Waitomo

In Waitomo we visited a pretty eccentric guy who ran a motel made up of an old ship, a hobbit village and a bomber plane. It was too expensive for us to justify staying the night, but it was really weird having a look around them. Very quirky!

We did quite a bit of walking in Waitomo. First to visit was the Mangapohue Natural Bridge. This arch bridge was once the roof of a cave that has now collapsed to create a gorge, and the arch is all that is left.

We then took our torches and explored the Piri Piri Cave...........no chicken inside though! :-)
This cave has not been commercialised like the others so you are free to explore for yourself. It was pitch black though, and taking photos was pretty much point, take a guess, then set off the flash.

 There were beautiful rock formations on the floor and roof, extended as far as the torch would light.

Marokapa falls has 30m of plunging foamy waters, and is a frequent backdrop to the TV series Hercules. I loved that programme as a kid, prime Sunday TV watching. :-) Stuart couldn't help but strike a Herculean pose with a beautiful rainbow in the background.

Geothermal Explorers

 We have entered volcano territory! The North Island of New Zealand is bursting with geothermal activity. Stuart and I visited the 'Craters of the Moon' walk while in Taupo. The craters give off steam that has built up below ground from the intense magma temperatures, and creates bubbling pools of mud on the surface. Look a bit too close and it's a case of 'steamy windows' lol.

We also went an hour long walk to find then take a dip in natural hot stream pools at Spa Park in Taupo. It was actually a lot hotter than I was expecting, too hot for me to stay in for very long but Stuart loved it. Climbing over the rocks in barefoot and feeling the slime and dirt at the bottom of the pools was a bit creepy too!!

We also drove to see the massive Huka Falls. They are created by the massive river upstream being forced into a very narrow but very deep crack before exiting on the other side. They are extremely dangerous and no one has been down them, but that didn't stop me having to hold back Stuart wanting to go down them in a canoe! :-)

A geothermal adventure would not be complete without visiting some active volcanoes. In Tongariro National Park they have three......which they use as ski resorts! These volcanoes are all active, the last eruption being in 2007. The single cone volcano was used as the setting for Mordor in the Lord of the Rings movies. We spent the night in a campsite beneath the volcanoes. There were no eruptions luckily, but the smaller of the three was giving off a lot of steam.

It was quite cloudy when we were sleeping there so we didn't have a fantastic view, but a few days later after travelling north we had a pretty awesome clear view from a distance.

Napier

Napier is famous for it's art deco architecture. They say it is the best example in the world. The previous town was completely destroyed by an earthquake in 1931, so when rebuilding it was when art deco was the latest trend. But on arrival it is definitely not what I expected..............rather than a well preserved art deco town, it has become a total mis-match of buildings and eras. Rather than only allow art deco within the town centre, they haven't really bothered to control it. I did get to see the famous Tobacco Company building though which was pretty stunning.

Another highlight of Napier (for me anyway) is the port. My dad visited this port back when he was in the Merchant Navy, so I just had to have a look. From a good vantage point up on the hill I was lucky that day to see a cargo ship being offloaded. And by the look of the port and surrounds I don't think it would have changed much since my dad's visit.

Wellington

Wellington is a very hectic, very populated place. We have been used to the quiet South so it's pretty crazy to arrive here. We took a ride on the Wellington Cable Car. Not exactly what I would call a cable car, it was more of a finicular railway, but very pleasant all the same.

The weather here has been glorious, nice to spend some time in the sun. Hopefully it's a sample of the good weather to come.

Off to the North!

And we are away! Saying goodbye to the South Island and hello to the North!

The crossing was beautiful but very rough. You have to weave among the Marlborough Sounds which was very picturesque and very unlike any ferry trip I've taken before, but once out on the open sea it was a bit hairy. There were people being sick all over the place, all toilets full. I really needed to use the bathroom but decidied to hold it in until I got to Wellington, because the smell of other people puking was enough to nearly make me follow. Even the sheep down in cargo weren't doing too well, they were giving out some stink!

Stuart and I spent the crossing out on the back deck reading. I even took a nap, because the rocking was sending me off to sleep! The waves were crashing up over the bow so they closed the front deck, I managed to find a way round the side though and got to watch them from there. The crossing ended up taking us over 4 hours rather than the predicted 3 and a half due to the weather. But we've made it, bring on the North Island adventure!! :-)

Abel Tasman

I have managed what I never thought I could. Get into a kayak!!
I don't know why I have always been a bit scared to do it, and considering Stuart's canoe experience you think I would have tried it by now. But what a place to finally do it. We hired a kayak for the day and explored the sandy beaches and coves of the Abel Tasman.

 We were so lucky with the weather. It wasn't quite warm enough to go swimming, but it was hot enough to sun ourselves on the beach after paddling through rock caves! :-)

It was an awesome day. I'm suffering now though......my shoulders ache......my arms and elbows ache......and I've blistered my hands from holding the paddle. Still an awesome experience though, it was so worth it.

Tramping

Tramping.......quite a dodgy word the kiwis use for walking. Something we have been indulging in over the past week or so. Thought we better get some exercise in!
We went to Buller Gorge where they have New Zealand's longest swing bridge. Very, very bouncy on the way over. Especially with Stuart jumping up and down on it. And it was a looooong way down!!

 You then take a little half hour walk exploring the gorge. They point out a lot of earthquake ground shifts and cracks, and the river floods so much, that it was right under the swing bridge just back in June 2012. You wouldn't think it seeing where the water level was for us. The way back over was pretty cool. We took the tandem flying fox that runs alongside the bridge. Makes you feel like a big kid!

Harwoods Hole was our next tramp. A huge sink hole that cavers can descend and explore the network of caves below. We just stuck to walking in and having a nosey. The forests surrounding the hole are where they filmed a lot of scenes for Lord of the Rings. All forest scenes with the horses running through the trees and stuff like that. Not a huge fan, so not really sure what scenes they are lol. After tramping through forest and over fallen rock falls you literally just climb up onto the rocks at Harwood Hole. Not exactly big on the whole health and safety thing over here. Stuart went a lot closer than me and said that it literally just drops right down into the darkness.

We also took a wander over into the Marlbourough Sounds. Very similar to Fiordland, in that the steep valleys were cut out by glacial activity, but not on such a huge scale as Milford. Still really pretty to drive and walk around......sorry, tramp around. We stayed a few nights out here camping by the sea, it was so peaceful. And well deserved after our excercise!

And what do you think of Stuarts hair!!! lol pretty mental eh?!

Ice tea

Lipton ice tea.....close to VLT.....but not quite.....but close enough just now.....the hunt continues lol