Notes from the road vol.4...

Allright, we currently find ourselves in Rotorua, near the top of the north island, and with an awful lot of blog to update. I'll get to that in a minute. The last little while since our ferry trip have included a few volcanoes, a whole lot of coastline, getting off the beaten track, kiwis and horsies. And now we have about 10 days left in the van and only a week or so more in NZ after that. Eeep! Here's what you've missed:

(apologies for keeping this very brief)

Day 22: Explored Wharariki Beach at the very top of the South Island, famous for loads of crazy caves, arches, rock pools and the such. Also checked out Farewell Spit before heading to a campsite down the end of 15km of unsealed dirt road.

Day 23: Back out along said dirt road and round to the bottom of the park for an afternoons kayaking. Definitely the best way to explore the national park coastline, as the water is crystal clear, still as a lake, and only rarely deeper than waist height. We checked out a bunch of deserted beaches and islands, saw a few seals and one very lost penguin! Awesome day, beautiful weather too.

Day 24: Bit of a mooch around Nelson and then driving through the Marlborough Sounds to Picton, ready for a 7am ferry the next morning,

Day 25: 3 Hours of nausea inducing bouncing around later, we arrived in Wellington on the north island. Spent the day getting used to being in an actual city. Had quite a nice vibe too it, found some cool clothes & music shops, and a few funky cafes too. Stayed the night at Paekariki (North Island represents the start of town names which are largely unpronouncable).

Day 26: Big day of driving up the coastal highway, through Wanganui and up toward Whakapapa Village, and the start of the Tongariro Crossing alpine walk. Got bedded down nice and early in the campsite and awaited our 6am wake up call.

Day 27: The big day. Those of you who know the crossing know what it entails, those who dont, suffice to say its 8 hours of walking up and down active volcanoes through some of the most remarkable landscapes on earth. We had a peach of a day for it, sunny and clear, could see all the way accross to Mt.Taranaki on the west coast. The walk was exhuasting but absolutely incredible. Would do it again in a heart beat, however our legs are still kind of aching.

Day 28: Drove up to Lake Taupo (also a volcano) and spent the day with our feet well and truly up. Deserved I think?

Day 29: Out of Taupo and off to the east to take in the start of our coastline trawl which sees us bouncing along the eastern shoreline from Napier alllllll the way round the Whakatane in the bay of plenty. First stop Napier, cool little town which was obliterated in the 1930s by an earthquake, and largely rebuilt in art deco stylee. So loads of fun buildings and lots of people driving around in bowler hats and classic cars. Also right on the beach, and the weather was still sensational. Spent the afternoon with our feet well and truly up.

Day 30: Up to Gisborne, not as pretty as Napier, but still some cool things to do. Were going to update blogs then but horrified to discover it was a sunday. Bummer. Spent the afternoon in the Botanic gardens with our feet well and truly up. Lovely campsite on the East Coast, ready to be one of the first people in the world to see the sunrise of a new day. Apparantly. What about Fiji? Never mind.

Day 31: Took advantage of the autumnal season to visit a large local arboretum and check the beginnings of the colour tinges. First bit of real walking since the crossing, but we managed it. A shed load of driving got us back on track and into the windy roads of Eastland. Not many tourists take the time to see this bit of the country, and the population is mostly Maori in small communities and towns. Admittedly theres no glaciers or fiords, but the beaches are second to none, and the Maori culture is everywhere, and not just the ye olde worlde show and tell maoris in grass skirts. A really cool area. Camped up in Waihui Bay on the north coast around the cape.

Day 32: Booked in to do a horse trek on Mangapoura Station (20,000 hectare sheep far) in the heart of Eastland, about 20km of windy dirt road off the highway. We were told about this place by Dan & Anne (wwoofer hosts, remember? Keep up!), as being the best spot to totally get away from the commercial tourism of modern New Zealand and see some of the real character of the place. It was a totally fantastic day, just me, Claire & our guide exploring the farm on horses in the glorious sunshine. Felt totally relaxed after all that hectic driving. If we thought our feet hurt after 8 hours up a volcano though, it was nothing on how our bums were feeling after 4 hours on horses. Ouch. Finally made it back to the highway after another nerve wracking trip over the access road, and headed to Whakatane.

Day 33 (today): First thing in the morning we cut back inland from our coastal oddyssey (sorry, no spell check on that one) to hit up Rotorua, and definitely back into the shrink wrapped tourist world with a bump. The town is nice though, sitting as it does on a huge thermal field, means most of Lake Rotorua is a sulphur flat and the whole town smells like a cross between bad eggs or good pate. We were tipped off to go to a Kiwi rescue sanctuary near by as the best place to see the endangered and rare national bird, as they are reared from eggs and run amock in their little pens in front of the visitors with no glass or cages in the way. It was a really cool tour, and all the money went to a great cause, hope all the boys at the sanctuary keep up the good work. All i have to say about Kiwis is they truly are about as mad an animal as you could possibly imagine (although a lot bigger than you think they are going to be!). And curse all the stoats & possums who dash around the wild chomping down on their eggs.

Right i think thats up to date? The weather here is still brilliant, although rain clouds keep threatening to burst our bubble. We thought NZ was supposed to be wet?? Anyway, Im sure ive missed out a few vital bits. But ive only got a few minutes left so ill try to bundle some photos of the above on facebook. Be sure to swing by and check them out! (Mum & Dad, those links i e-mailed you should still work!). Hope everybody at home is keeping well? Not long now till were back in the thick of it with you. Just a few tropical paradises to stop by first. More news soon...

Chazz & Claire xx