Lake Taupo and Huka Falls

On the way back to Auckland, Andy and I knew we had to stop by the Lake Taupo region.  This area has a ton of activities and is full of goodies.

Lake Taupo is the largest lake in New Zealand and the largest freshwater lake in Australasia (about the size of Singapore).

It is also just northeast of Mt. Doom, I mean Mt. Ngauruhoe.  But I'll get to that later...

We drove to Spa Park, which has a free swimming hole and natural hot pools, as well as a walkway to Huka Falls, our ultimate goal.

hot pool

From the park, we walked an hour along the Waikare River (New Zealand's longest river) near its start from Lake Taupo to Huka Falls.  The river itself continues on for 425 kilometers and ends in the sea south of Auckland.

Huka Falls is one of the most visited natural attractions in New Zealand.  About 220,000 liters of water plunge over the edge every second (enough to fill five Olympic swimming pools per minute).

On the walk back, we decided to take a different route, which ended up taking much longer than expected... Needless to say, by the time we returned to Spa Park, we were quite exhausted and decided to take advantage of the opportunity to enjoy the hot springs there.

I was going to combine this post with our next venture: Mt. Doom (I mean Mt. Ngauruhoe).  But Andy and I decided that, if Hobbiton got its own post, Mt. Doom should get one too.  So check back soon... Mt. Doom will be posted in the next day or two!

Wellington

On our tour around the North Island, we have finally made it from the northern tip of Cape Reinga to the capital of Wellington in the south.  Our first impression of the city was that it is WINDY.  I don't mean a slight breeze, but a wind so strong that you have trouble walking straight (if you can move forward at all).  Our second impression was that it reminds us a bit of Seattle :)

taken near the marina

Wellington has been said to have more bars, restaurants, and cafes per capita than New York City.  There is a lot to do there and plenty to entertain.  Andy and I decided to go to the Te Papa Museum (the national museum of New Zealand) on the waterfront:

Our decision to go there was based primarily on two reasons: 1.) it was highly recommended and 2.) it was free!  Can't beat that.  They had a lot of interesting exhibits, such as: Mountains to Sea (a sample of NZ's animal and plant life), Awesome Forces (focusing on the forces that shaped NZ's landscapes with particular emphasis on earthquakes; it included an interactive house where you could experience an earthquake simulation), and The Marae (a look at Maori artwork).  We learned a lot about the history, culture, and wildlife of New Zealand.  Well worth the visit.

entrance to Mountains & Sea exhibit

the only Colossal Squid on public display in the world

the entrance to the Earthquake exhibit

Afterwards, we drove to the nearby Mt. Victoria lookout to get some nice shots of the city.  Though it had been a nice morning, it was quite overcast by then.  So keep in mind that these pictures do not do the city justice:

We only spent a day exploring Wellington and are now making our way northwards again.  We have less than a week now to return our campervan to Auckland.  But first, we have a couple more stops on our itinerary...

Picture of the Day: Beachside Accommodation

Sleeps 1.5 and includes a table and moldy bread.

(Note: We did not stay here)

Down the East Coast

The last time I wrote, I mentioned that we were heading east towards the cape. Well, on the way there, we stopped by the city of Ohope by the Bay of Plenty. It was then we realized that the weather might not be in our favor for this particular venture...

Clouds coming in over the Bay of Plenty

Sure enough, as Andy mentioned in a previous post, we faced heavy winds and sideways rain. Unfortunately, this put a damper on our plans to see East Cape. However, the nice thing about New Zealand rain is, unlike Seattle, it only seems to last a day or two before it clears up and we get this lovely weather again:

We continued south along the east coast, stopping fairly often to enjoy the many beaches and beautiful scenery along the way.  Here are a just a few sights from our journey.

Just south of East Cape:

The small town of Waipiro:

Tokomaru Bay:

Shots from the road:

Te Paerahi Beach:

The Waikare River:

We spent the morning of our second anniversary on the 5th hiking near the Waikare River at sunrise.  Later in the day, we explored the Napier/Hastings area by Hawkes Bay.

Sunrise over the mouth of the Waikare River 

Hastings

The last two years have been wonderful and I am looking forward to many many more years (and adventures) with my best friend.

Next stop: Wellington!

Picture of the Day: Bacon!

       In New Zealand, bacon is not a puny little strip of meat and fat. Here they use the whole shoulder, much like Canadian bacon on pizza back home. Traveling through the countryside, I feel a much closer connection to the food chain. At some point I plan on writing a more in depth commentary on the subject.

Picture(s) of the Day: Bald Duck

Back home we have Bald Eagles; here they have bald ducks!

(...and black swans.)

Rotorua and Paradise Valley Springs

As of September 1st, Spring has sprung in New Zealand.  This past Sunday (9/2) was Father's Day, so Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

After Andy and I visited Hobbiton, we traveled just south of Matamata to Rotorua (commonly known as "Roto-vegas"), a major tourist town known for its geothermal activity and Maori culture.  It is also the home of the Zorb.

Our campsite by Lake Rotorua

We decided to venture just outside of Rotorua to Paradise Valley Springs, partly for cost efficiency and mostly because it was the only place in the country where you could pet baby lion cubs!

 They also had a number of grown lions and a variety of other animals that you could pet and feed:

ducklings!

wallabies

Rotorua was a fun city, but since high tourism generally means "expensive activities," we only spent a day in the area before hitting the road again.  Our course was now due east towards one of the least touristy and most overlooked areas on the island: East Cape.

More to come!