Our first destination was the Coramandel Peninsula for a couple days. This pretty area is only a couple hours east of Auckland and has a summery, vacation feel to it. We found a small hostel in the town of Hahei owned by a retired couple. They essentially rent out their 2 spare rooms and let you use their newly remodeled kitchen, and relax on their perfectly situated front and back decks. Across the road and only a few minute walk away is the sandy white Hahei beach. After all the activity from the past few weeks, this little homey retreat was the perfect place to relax and rejuvenate. We spent 2 nights and did a short hike to nearby Cathedral Cov
e that features neat caverns along the beach. We also dug our own little spa pool at the famed "Hot Water Beach" with borrowed spade shovels. There is hot mineral water that runs beneath the sand and two hours each side of low-tide, people gather to dig holes in the sand that fill with hot water. It was harder work than we anticipated, so we partnered with a few others nearby and all pitched in to dig one huge spa bath. It was great fun! We were sad to leave this idyllic spot, but had much more to see and do.
Our second stop on the Coramandel was at Pinnacles National Park, where we did a 6 hour hike (to boast, it was supposed to take 9 hours ;) up a mountain to an incredible look out for miles beyond. It was our first major hike in New Zealand and was a great jump start to getting us excited and ready for more hikes. My body did have a bit of a shock, but it's about time I got in better shape. Eric is very patient with me on the steep uphills thank goodness.From the Coramandel we headed south to Waitomo, famous for its multitude of glow worm
caves. We found another homey B&B called the Big Bird Inn, also an ostrich farm. We even sampled scrambled ostrich eggs for breakfast. My mom and I had visited Waitomo before when I was studying for a semester in NZ and had had a great experience exploring the caves and underwater rivers on inner-tubes. It was so much fun, we decided to do a similar cave tour, but with a different company and in a different cave. The 3 hours we spent underground included a bi
t of exploration on foot, wading and crawling in muddy cave water through a small tunnel to a larger room that is home to a 12 meter waterfall, floating on our inner-tubes through long tunnels and admiring the glow worms that make the cave ceiling look like a starry night, a backwards jump off a 3 meter waterfall and an underground water slide finale that sends you flying down a 10 meter drop and a near miss of a cave wall at the bottom. It was wet, muddy and messy and a great thrill. Even included a dorky outfit and helmet with headlamp. We recommend you check out the photos!Tongariro Crossing
In the lower half of the North Island sits Tongariro National Park,
featuring 3 live volcanoes. For Lord of the Rings fans, you must also note that these cool volcanoes were the backdrop of Mordor. We had heard about a must-do day hike called the Tongariro Crossing and made arrangements to partake. It's a popular hike, but well worth dealing with the company of others and the effort of climbing "Devil's Staircase" as they call it. It takes about 6-8 hours and includes steep climbs and descents, some incredible views of the volcanoes up 
close, lava fields, craters, emerald mineral lakes, and surrounding valleys and faraway lakes. It's a stunning hike with a bit of everything and we thoroughly enjoyed every part of it. Well, ok, maybe not the really steep climbs, but at least they were worth it. We were also finding how much we were enjoying hiking together...it's a great time to talk about things on your mind, or even just be quite together and take in natural wonders. I might become a little "outdoorsy" girl after all.Wanganui
We were planning to just stay one night in this small town near the sea and along a big river, but once we arrived and found yet another homey little hostel, we ended up staying a few days. We met a really nice family from the US with two teenage daughters who had moved to NZ for 6 months on a short-term work assignment. It was great chatting with them about their lives and also giving a bit of NZ advice from our experiences here. One of the guys, Daniel, who manned the reception desk at the hostel was also great fun and we watched a few evening movies with him and others. They had a lovely back garden where we spent time reading and journaling and having our meals. Since we were really getting into this whole outdoor thing again, and planned to continue, we decided to invest a bit in some warmer clothes and cam
p gear. We explored the quaint downtown and found a Salvation Army where we rummaged through the racks and bins, trying on all sorts of fun stuff and settling on some wool socks, hats, gloves and sweaters for our higher altitude endeavors. We also raided the camp stores and decided to purchase a small tent, 2 sleeping bags and a gas cooker so we could start camping more. Considering we had all this stuff and sent it home earlier in the trip, we were a bit gutted to buy it all again, but figured it would pay itself off in the end if we used it a lot and saved money from camping. Plus, we are also planning on a lot of hiking and camping in Argentina and Chile, so these items will prove useful there as well.Wellington
Our stop in Wellington was a brief one...only a matter of hours to wait for the departure of our ferry across to the South Island. On the way to the capital city, we ran a number of erra
nds in the small towns along the way...popping into a few more charity shops in case there were other good deals, mailing home another package of stuff we decided we could live without and just enjoying the journey. In fact, we truly enjoyed all the driving we did...it feels a bit like you are driving in a postcard in NZ. There are so many diverse and stunning landscapes to keep you entertained as you curve around winding roads or speed through the straightaways. Its really surprising how much variety is packed into this small country.Next...
Soon, we will continue our story with adventures on the South Island and updates about our travel plans in Samoa, Tonga and South America. So keep checking back for new stuff and we'll try and be better about updating the blog more often! :)
To see photos from our North Island Adventures, click here.
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