Posted by: Jenn
Jonathan and I finally made our way back to Auckland after a nice visit around Northland New Zealand. The map below shows what we covered in Crappie. Which, by the way, Jonathan was too hard on 'Crappie'. I quite enjoyed the comforts of this van and think Crappie was a harsh name. But, Jonathan is the king of naming things so I let him go with it.
Jonathan and I finally made our way back to Auckland after a nice visit around Northland New Zealand. The map below shows what we covered in Crappie. Which, by the way, Jonathan was too hard on 'Crappie'. I quite enjoyed the comforts of this van and think Crappie was a harsh name. But, Jonathan is the king of naming things so I let him go with it.
As we drove over the bridge entering the north side of Auckland the weather deterred our view of the skyline - another rainy day.
We spent the night outside of Auckland and then got up early the next morning to pick up Mr. W and MB from the airport. This was exciting to me for several reasons. First and foremost, we would get to see and spend time with family, which is always nice after being on the road for so long. Second, I would not have to live out of a campervan. We would be upgraded to hotel rooms with showers. And lastly, I would be able to sit down in a restaurant and enjoy a nice meal in a chair at a table without having to wash my dishes with a bucket of water behind a van in a random parking lot. Bring on the high maintenance parents - woohoo!
After we settled into our nice, clean hotel room our first mission was to find a rental car that we could explore in for the next two weeks. We settled upon a people mover. New Zealand refers to mini vans as people movers. We spent the rest of the day catching up with Mr. W and MB and then headed out for a delicious dinner of cheeseburgers and fries - not Roo burgers, but beef...mmm mmm good. The next morning we packed up the people mover and headed towards the Coromondal Peninsula. The coast line once we hit the peninsula was beautiful. The rolling green hills seemed to flow right into the deep blue ocean.
After we settled into our nice, clean hotel room our first mission was to find a rental car that we could explore in for the next two weeks. We settled upon a people mover. New Zealand refers to mini vans as people movers. We spent the rest of the day catching up with Mr. W and MB and then headed out for a delicious dinner of cheeseburgers and fries - not Roo burgers, but beef...mmm mmm good. The next morning we packed up the people mover and headed towards the Coromondal Peninsula. The coast line once we hit the peninsula was beautiful. The rolling green hills seemed to flow right into the deep blue ocean.
Our first stop was totally unplanned but so fun! We were curving along a twisting mountain road and all of a sudden have to slow down because something ahead was crossing the road. As we approached we noticed that it was a herd of pigs heading to their owners to get fed. We (read I) just had to stop and play with the pigs. The farmer picked up a piglet and handed it over. I don't think I've ever held a piglet before so it was quite the treat.
As we were playing with the pigs, a peacock was circling our van staring down his reflection in the side panels. Convinced it was another male he spread his feathers and attacked over and over and over. Eventually the peacock tired from countless pecks and kicks that never phased the reflection and hobbled away in defeat. From then on the Toyota Lucida people mover has been referred to as The Peacock Fighter.
After everyone peeled me away from the pigs we said bye to the farmers and piled back into The Peacock Fighter.
Our next stop was a place that none of us really had any expectations for. We were not sure what exactly "Hot Water Beach" meant but we were sure to find out. We rented a shovel and made our way down the beach. Apparently at low tide, you can dig a shallow hole and hot water will surface from underground geothermal pools...crazy! As we were walking towards an empty plot of sand we could feel warmer sections of sand. If you stood for a second and let you feet sink in you could feel really hot water running over your feet.
Our next stop was a place that none of us really had any expectations for. We were not sure what exactly "Hot Water Beach" meant but we were sure to find out. We rented a shovel and made our way down the beach. Apparently at low tide, you can dig a shallow hole and hot water will surface from underground geothermal pools...crazy! As we were walking towards an empty plot of sand we could feel warmer sections of sand. If you stood for a second and let you feet sink in you could feel really hot water running over your feet.
The idea of standing on the beach and feeling ice cold water on your shins but boiling hot water at your toes was unthinkable. We had planned to only stay for an hour or so and then head on to our next stop but we ended up hanging out there forever because it was just that wild!
We ended up spending the night close to Hot Water Beach at a cute two bedroom condo and grabbing pizza at a local cafe. The next morning we headed towards the Waitomo Caves. On the way we stopped to have breakfast at a coffee shop. A lot of the restaurants in New Zealand serve pre-made pies for brunch or lunch. The pies are not sweet they are savory.
We ended up spending the night close to Hot Water Beach at a cute two bedroom condo and grabbing pizza at a local cafe. The next morning we headed towards the Waitomo Caves. On the way we stopped to have breakfast at a coffee shop. A lot of the restaurants in New Zealand serve pre-made pies for brunch or lunch. The pies are not sweet they are savory.
We ordered ham and cheese pies, egg and bacon pies, and egg and cheese quiches along with lattes and coffees. I really enjoyed this breakfast!
We arrived at the Rap, Raft and Rock caving company and got briefed for our adventure. We were going to rappel into a cave with a river running through it, explore the inter workings of the cave, float down the river in a tube and then lastly rock climb out of the cave. And for those of you who know Mary Beth - YES! she did all this!!! Just wait, I have pictures to prove it!
Our tour guide Simon took our group, us and two others from Italy, to the changing rooms and got us suited up in wetsuits (it was pretty chilly outside), rubber boots, and helmets. We looked HOTT!
Our tour guide Simon took our group, us and two others from Italy, to the changing rooms and got us suited up in wetsuits (it was pretty chilly outside), rubber boots, and helmets. We looked HOTT!
Simon led us to the top of the cave and showed us how to use our rappelling gear.
After we all felt safe using the equipment we made our way to the entrance of the cave. Looking down into the dark abyss was intimidating but one by one we overcame the fear of the unknown and descended into the hole.
We spent the next few hours exploring the cave, crawling through holes, and observing the glow worms. New Zealand is one of the few places that has glow worms. They are small worms that live on the ceiling of the cave and weave webs with their saliva. They attract bugs to their webs by lighting up the end of their tail.
When we all cut off our head lamps, it was like we were sitting by a river staring at the stars - pretty amazing.
After we had our fill of squeezing ourselves through impossible holes we relaxed a little and let the river carry us to the cave exit. We floated in tubes down the river in the dark under the lights of the glow worms. There were rapids and twists and turns and it was an awesome experience getting to tube in a cave.
After we had our fill of squeezing ourselves through impossible holes we relaxed a little and let the river carry us to the cave exit. We floated in tubes down the river in the dark under the lights of the glow worms. There were rapids and twists and turns and it was an awesome experience getting to tube in a cave.
Our last rush of adrenaline was climbing out of the cave. There were no stairs or an easy route up. We had to strap in and climb up the cave wall.
After some hot showers and getting back into our dry clothes, we settled into a hotel room and slept so well after a hard day of exploring the underworld.
We awoke the next morning and headed south towards the city of Taupo. Unsure of what we wanted to do for the rest of the day, we visited the town's information center and asked advice on several activities. The information advisor showed us a pamphlet for jet boating. We were sold and he booked us for that same day later in the afternoon. Before jet boating we visited a scenic overlook of the town and the lake backed with snow capped mountains and Huka Falls.
We awoke the next morning and headed south towards the city of Taupo. Unsure of what we wanted to do for the rest of the day, we visited the town's information center and asked advice on several activities. The information advisor showed us a pamphlet for jet boating. We were sold and he booked us for that same day later in the afternoon. Before jet boating we visited a scenic overlook of the town and the lake backed with snow capped mountains and Huka Falls.
Huka Falls was a striking waterfall showing enormous strength as the white water gushed through the narrow canyon walls and shot out into an open pool of icy blue water. The amount of water, which is 52,834 gallons per second, that flows over the falls is enough to fill five Olympic sized swimming pools every minute - impressive!
As the time grew nearer, we made our way to the jet boat company. Again, unsure of what to expect we suited up and walked down to the river to board the boat. The captain started the engine and we all felt the power of the boat before we even left the dock. The boat had a 500 horsepower Chevy V8 engine. Mr. Williams said "Where's Tom?"
Our captain told us to hold on and he took off nearly giving us whip lash as he hit the accelerator. We sped down the narrow river way as the cliffs flew by. It was the second most exhilarating activity, next to the canyon swing in Nepal, that I have done since we have been gone. I didn't know a boat was capable of going that fast! Here are some awesome photos that the company took of us as we were attacking some rapids.
As the time grew nearer, we made our way to the jet boat company. Again, unsure of what to expect we suited up and walked down to the river to board the boat. The captain started the engine and we all felt the power of the boat before we even left the dock. The boat had a 500 horsepower Chevy V8 engine. Mr. Williams said "Where's Tom?"
Our captain told us to hold on and he took off nearly giving us whip lash as he hit the accelerator. We sped down the narrow river way as the cliffs flew by. It was the second most exhilarating activity, next to the canyon swing in Nepal, that I have done since we have been gone. I didn't know a boat was capable of going that fast! Here are some awesome photos that the company took of us as we were attacking some rapids.
Can you believe that on a narrow river with rapids that boat got up to 50 miles an hour! Wow! We also did multiple 180s. That was the most exciting. The captain would steer us super close to the rock face and then whip the boat around swinging us all against the side of the boat as it spun around on a dime. Who knew a boat could do that?! Thank you Mr. Williams because that was amazing!!
After the jet boat ride we drove on a little more towards the Tongariro National Park, our next destination. As it was getting dark we found a place to stay and enjoyed the full kitchen and flat screen T.V.
After the jet boat ride we drove on a little more towards the Tongariro National Park, our next destination. As it was getting dark we found a place to stay and enjoyed the full kitchen and flat screen T.V.
Our final stop for this North Island adventure in the Peacock fighter was the Tongariro National Park. As we entered the park the scenery instantly became more drastic. The mountains jutted up and the lakes reflected their white peaks while yellow flowers accented the shore line.
We enjoyed the view lakeside for a while before driving up to a car park so we could start a short hike to a nearby waterfall.
It was a beautiful hike and nice break from riding in a car for hours on end. As we left the park we were forced to come to an abrupt halt as a herd of cows was being pushed across the road.
We continued south towards Wellington so that we could catch the ferry across to the South Island where there is supposedly so much more to see! The map below shows what we covered over these five days.
Now, let me give you a quicker overview of the past five days. Mr. W and MB arrived on the 3rd. We drove on average four hours everyday and changed hotel rooms every night. Jonathan and I are very proud of Mr. W and MB for being such troupers on our tour of New Zealand. It just has so much to see that if you are only here for two weeks you have to move! We arrived to Wellington the morning of the 8th to catch the ferry. So over a period of five days we drove roughly 620 miles and still did everything posted in this blog. Go us!