One last Hurrah on Waiheke Island

I had a wonderful second to last day in New Zealand. I made it to the beautiful island of Waiheke, just a 40 minute ferry ride from downtown Auckland. Waiheke is most noted for its plethora of wineries, of which I only visited one, the Cable Bay Winery.



I contemplated skipping this little one-nighter altogether, but was glad I made it. I almost ended up sleeping on the beach because I couldn't find the backpackers lodge in the dark, but ended up splurging on a more expensive place.

Cape Reinga

On Friday, I took a coach ride to the northernmost part of New Zealand, Cape Reinga. Had such a great time, you know how sometimes just the people that you are with make all the difference? Thats how it was. There was a mother and daughter from The Netherlands, a quartet of Germans, an English pair, a Korean girl, a family from Fiji and couple of Koreans. We sang songs and laughed with our driver, Murray, the whole way.

The Lighthouse and view from the top, where the Tasman and Pacific meet.




Took a visit to the Ancient Kauri Forest. These trees are now protected but in places have been preserved in the swamp and they are dug up and made into very expensive and beautiful carvings and furniture.



Well I think I can safely add boogy boarding down the sand dunes as a sport that is pretty hilarious to watch me fail at. For those of you who have never had the pleasure, golf, disc golf and skiing are equally as entertaining. Climbed up the steep hill, mounted the board and away I went...until about half way down when somehow I lost control, let go of the board and tumbled head over heels to the bottom. Twice I did that. I couldn't work up enough courage to try again. I think I had sand in every bodily orifice and I'm sure I swallowed a mouthful.


Now started our coach trip down Ninety Mile Beach (which is really only 64 miles, by the way.) How bizarre!! Riding in a big bus in the sand and surf.

A Day in the Bay

I arrived in Paihia Tuesday afternoon and checked into a little place called the Pickled Parrot. The weather was beautiful and I just relaxed and went for a walk along the beach. On Thursday, I took a boat ride out into the Bay of Islands to see dolphins and rocks.

So if you haven't noticed already, I'm a little obsessed with the geology here. The pictures below show the columnar jointing of basalt as lava cooled quickly, contracted and formed cracks perpendicular to the surface of flow.

The Hole in the Rock. Actually there are several of these. They are formed by the erosion of the soft mudstone while the harder graywacke remains.

Oh and the dolphins were cool, too.




So was the fantastic beach we went to for our lunch break.

Taupo Bungy

Let me just preface this entry by saying that as a child I couldn't even jump off the high dive at swimming lessons. Today, I jumped off a 47 meter high platform above the Waikato River. I won't lie, I had to be pushed a little bit and I screamed the whole time but it was definitely worth it.

This was the boat that picked you up at the bottom. Funny story...this other girl from the hostel, Zoe from England, and I went to do this together. As we're working up the courage we're watching these guys in the boat. They lost one of their long poles in the shallow water near the shore and one of them takes off his shirt and dives in to retrieve it. He does so, but as his mate is pulling him back in the boat, the pole he just retrieved promptly slides back into the water. We're watching the whole thing, the guys don't have a clue. We're anxiously awaiting the moment they discover it missing. So they are heading back to the dock area and about halfway there we see them look around for the pole and realizing what happened, they go back to fetch it again. After that, we decided we had to make the jump, if for no other reason than to tell these guys that we saw it all. It was the best free entertainment I'd had in a while.

The view from up river just a bit. Breathtaking, huh? The river is sooo clear.

Tongariro Crossing

For those of you Lord of the Rings fans, here is Mount Doom, known around here as Mt. Ngauruhoe.



Breathtaking is the only word to describe the Tongariro Crossing. The weather was great except at the very top when I actually got frosty eyelashes.

Its geological heaven. You can actually see the lava flow and where it stopped. So cool. Afterwards, James and I had an fantastic meal at BBQ place in Turangi. Best meal I've had in months.

Skydiving Taupo

Can't believe I really went skydiving!!! I went all out and got the video and everything. Its pretty hilarious - I'll show it when I get back. Its a rush like nothing I've ever felt before.


Luckily, the weather is cooperating and I'll get to hike Tongariro Crossing tomorrow. See you then!

Cheers!!

Whitewater Rafting in Turangi

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures to accompany this awesome trip, you'll just have to take my word for it, we had a fantastic time. Normally the river has an output of 16 cubic meters per second but with all the rain they've been getting and the dam being out of commission it was running more like 38 cubic meters per second. Talk about fun!! We had a super guide and they even gave us a white chocolate treat and fed us sandwiches and tea afterwards. Highly recommend it. If you are ever in Turangi check them out here.