So Long North Island and Thanks for All the Fish!

We left Opotiki and decided to do the east coast drive. There’s not much in terms of cities and attractions except for really small towns and some beautiful remote coasts. We tried to give a go at fishing but the waves were too rough and couldn’t get the bait out past the surf. Knowing that the fishing was done, I had to toss the remaining stinky bait because Michelle didn’t want it in the cooler. Sure enough, later that evening we come to a small bay with a calm sea and I don’t have any bait L. However, the gorgeous, fire looking sunset makes up for it though.

We finish off the east coast drive and head to Taupo in the center of NZ. On our way we stop and do a short hike to see the shine falls. The walk in was breathtaking. The landscape with the towering rock faces and green meadows was like nothing we’ve ever seen before.

Once we arrived at the waterfall, Michelle became occupied with her camera and I became occupied with eels. As mentioned in a previous post, fresh water eels inhabit some streams and lakes here. Some locals say that they’re quite tasty too. So one of my new objectives, while we are here, is to capture an eel for supper. Needless to say, I didn’t get one, but I was really close. The only thing that’s stopping me now is fear. Those things are big and scary looking, but I’ll soon get over that and spear one soon.

Once we arrived in Taupo, we made our way up Mt. Tauhara, a small mountain, to get a view of Lake Taupo (NZ’s largest lake) and Mt. Tongariro the active volcano that erupted in August and again just a few weeks ago. We also hiked along a beautiful river to Huka Falls and then found ourselves sweating it out in another thermal pool, (free hot-tub). What a treat. The next few days were rainy so we pretty much laid low in the library, shopping, movies, and we found ourselves in the hot tub a couple more times too.

Tongariro Park Across Lake Taupo

When the weather finally cleared up, we decided to go right where the action is; Tongriro national park. We did the Tongriro Northern Circuit, which is a 31 mile, 3 day Circuit around the active volcanoes of Mt. Ngauruhoe and Mt. Tongariro. The track includes glacial valleys with streams, beautiful blue glacial lakes, active volcanic craters and some geothermal vents. This is the longest backpacking tramp that Michelle and I have ever done. It was also pretty tough since we had to carry 3 days worth of food, clothing, and camping equipment (tent, sleeping bags and pad, pots). Our bags were heavy, and the second day (13 miles) seemed like it was all uphill, but it was all worth it. An amazing experience and we made it out alive.

Standing on top of Red Crater; Still Active!

After a few difficult days of hiking we decided to go to the coast for some RnR. We found a nice spot on the beach and within 20 minutes I get the van stuck in some rocks. After 30 minutes of rocking, prying, and digging we finally get the van out. There are no pictures of this, as I was too embarrassed and angry at myself for allowing this to happen. We were able to relax afterwards though, and it was needed for our upcoming endeavor. Once we were rested up we decided to go to Cape Palliser on the east coast. The quickest route according to the gps and also the map has us travel down Akatarawa road. It looks like a normal road on the map, but it is far from normal. Akatarawa road is by far the scariest road ever! It is 31 km of single lane two-way road with hairpin turn after hairpin turn on the side of an extremely steep mountain and few guard rails. I give props to Michelle for driving it, but once we got started, she really didn’t have any choice. It took us over an hour to drive it and 3 hours off our life, due to stress.

Once we arrived to Cape Palliser it felt like we went back in time 50 years. The town of Ngawi is a small fishing village that uses tractors and bulldozers for launching their fishing boats into the bay. The boats, tractors and houses all looked old and used. There isn’t a shop in sight, just boats, houses, seals, and black sandy beaches. 

Nearby there are the Putangurua Pinnacles, which are huge pinnacles that look like organ pipes. We did a short walk through the brittle pillars, but didn’t stray too far from the path since they really could collapse at any moment.

From Cape Palliser we departed for Wellington, the capitol of NZ, and also the gateway to the South Island. And we got a flat tire; usually not a huge deal, but there were some problems. The jack in the van is for a different vehicle and was missing a key component.  I rigged something to make it work and then it wouldn’t lift the van high enough. I tried everything, but when you’re on the side of the expressway your options are limited. So I called roadside assistance and explained that all I needed was a jack. A man came with a jack and attempted to put on the spare but the rim of the spare tire is also for a different vehicle. We needed to get a tow. We were on the side of the expressway for 2.5 hrs waiting. Fortunately, we were able to move into the living room of our van and patiently wait. Another thing that crossed our mind is that this could have happened on the terrible one lane road, or out in the middle of nowhere; Ngawi.

Once in Wellington (aka “Windy Welly”) we enjoyed a nice city walk along the waterfront and also went to the Te Papa Museum, the museum of New Zealand. The museum was fascinating. There were so many interesting native land and sea animals and plants on display. There was a geographic exhibit showcasing volcanoes and earthquakes and how these have shaped NZ over the past few million years. There was also a floor dedicated to Maori history and culture. It was fascinating to see that many of the artifacts are still deeply imbedded in today’s culture, with an emphasis on the beauty of the land and the importance of the sea.

The 3 hr ferry ride to the south island

To be honest, we didn’t expect to have this much fun in the North Island because we knew the South Island has so much more to offer, as far as Mountainous landscapes go. We have just arrived in the South Island, and it’s bitter sweet because we know there is so much more to do in the North Island. We plan on spending another few weeks up there, before we make our voyage back home, and we are already planning on the places we would like to go and the people we would like to see again.  In the mean time, we’ll be driving around and living the dream awaiting the arrival of Bob. We’re not sure where we’ll be on Christmas, probably some beach, but we sure will miss the family and friends during those special times.

Here are links to our Picassa Pics if you'ld like to see more:

https://picasaweb.google.com/115853505113135701754/EastCapeAndLakeTaupo

https://picasaweb.google.com/115853505113135701754/TongariroNationalPark

https://picasaweb.google.com/115853505113135701754/OtakiAndCapePalliser

Farewell Opotoki!

We have been here in Opotoki for a total of 4 weeks now, and have been working on the kiwi orchards. Jobs included squeezing the vine buds, pulling down fruitless shoots, trunk girdling, setting up the sprinklers, picking flowers, and cutting away vines affected with Psa (a bacterial kiwifruit disease). We are thankful that we had this work available to us, but we are more than ready now to continue our exploration in the North Island. This was an experience that we will never forget, and who knows...maybe we will return to pick the kiwi fruit later on (I hope not). We now have a different appreciation for the amount of work that goes into orchards, but we have a greater appreciation for our degrees and jobs at home.
We are also grateful that our new friends, Ian and Malayna, let us stay with them for the month while we were working. We also had the opportunity to meet some of their friends and family, and try some new foods from the sea that they gathered. The treasured abalone or paua was amazing and the sea urchin or kina was amazingly disgusting. Even though the work was miserable at times, it was a great experience visiting Opotiki, the heartland of the Eastern Bay of Plenty.
Our plans now are to continue exploring the North Island for a couple of weeks and then ferry down to the South Island and anxiously wait for the arrival of our friend Bob on New Years' Eve. We don't really have any definitive plans on where we are going or what we are doing. All we can tell you is that we will be fishing, hiking, swimming, and driving. We can't wait!

Hot Tubbin

A few weeks ago we left our friends place in Orewa in order to do some orchard work, but we had a few stops to make on our way; the Coromandel peninsula being one of them. One of the highlights of the area was the Pinnacles hike in the Thames area. This hike takes you through a rainforest and up a mountain to these towering rocks called the pinnacles where we were rewarded with a beautiful view of the east coast and its islands. The hike was interesting since it had many different microclimates; cold rainforest to a hot desert all in a matter of hours. 

Once the hike was done we stumbled upon a 25 ft cliff over a river. You’ll never guess what we did. It was refreshing and necessary, since we didn’t know when we would have our next shower ;-)  

Cathedral Cove

The next day we did a short day hike in Hahei called Cathedral cove and saw more beautiful and interesting coastal features, but the highlight of the trip is our visit to Hot Water Beach. Hot water beach is known for natural hot water springs coming up though the sand (no sulfur smell either). We rented a spade and dug a hole in the sand to sit in our personal hot tub. It is best done 2hrs either side of low tide. We got there just in time. As you can see, and imagine, it’s quite a popular destination.

We left hot water beach for cold rain in Rotorua. As we approached the city we both noticed a stench, scrunched our faces and blamed each other for passing gas, but it’s really the sulfur from the geothermal activity. Rotorua is known for its geothermal activity, relaxing spas, hotsprings, and smells. Since we’re on a budget we opted out of the spas and hotsprings and decided to walk along some mud pits and hot pools in the rain. Truthfully it wasn’t that great, but we heard about a free hot pool out of town and decided to go there. Kerosene Creek is a beautiful, free, hot pool about 30 minutes out of town. The atmosphere was amazing; beautiful hot waterfall, surrounded by a rainforest, with the smell of only slightly rotting eggs (you do become desensitized to the smell).

The next day the sun decided to come out so we did a few hour hike up Rainbow Mountain. The hike took us along more geothermal pits to an overlook of the area. I feel that this picture really captures the New Zealand landscape well. It’s really green, hilly/mountainous, and covered in farmland. 

Once we finished the hike the temptation of Kerosene creek was too great. So we went back in for a quick relaxing dip.

We made our way to Ian and Malayna’s house in Opotiki. They were the ones who got us the job on the kiwi orchard and are kind enough to put us up for a couple of weeks. As mentioned before the work isn’t great but it will do for now. We didn’t work the second week due to rain and some other miscommunications. So we visited Whakatane and did some hikes there. The hikes gave us more spectacular views of the NZ coast. The river walk was really cool because so many people were out fishing and foraging, like a boat with the 100 lb shark, the locals collecting oysters and sea urchins, and the boat with 100’s of lobsters.

Whakatane River

Whakatane Coast from Above

We have done a little bit of fishing since we’ve been here. We’ve caught more interesting fish like the Red Moki (delicious), rock cod, john dory, trevally, and more snapper. While fishing one day we saw a seal swim up and sunbath on the rocks next to us. When I first saw it I thought it was a big bulldog swimming in the water, but I then realized we were in the middle of nowhere so it had to be a seal. It was a pretty awesome experience once I could wrap my head around what was happening.

We left Opotiki for a couple of days for Lake Waikaremoana.  It was rainy and cold, but we did some tramping in the forest, so we barely noticed the weather. It was a great way to make the best of the weather. The next day we awoke to more rain but decided to do a hike up a mountain anyways. As we started the sun came out and we had fantastic views of the lake and surrounding areas.

We are now back in Opotiki and should be working for the next 2 or 3 weeks. Hopefully the weather cooperates. Once we are finished working we’ll finish up our north island travels and head down to the south island to prepare for the Bob. Yes, our friend Bob is coming to visit for New Years. We are super excited to have our first guest in our "new mobile home". Please feel free to load him up with coffee, beef jerky, and wine as house warming gifts.

We are really starting to miss everyone especially knowing that Thanksgiving is in a couple of days and families are getting together. Although we will have our own thanksgiving here, it won’t be the same. 
Here is a link to Picasa for more pictures: Picasa Web Albums

Kiwi Work is FUN!!!

Michelle and I have been really busy the past 2 weeks. Our friend Hamish knew somebody in his old home town, Opotiki, that worked for the kiwi orchards and was able to get us work for a couple of weeks. Before we started working, we decided to go on one more trip around the north (more to come later). We started work on a kiwi orchard last monday and have worked our tails off.  The work is not difficult, but it is boring, repetitive, and we are looking up the whole time. Our days consist of squeezing the buds of the vines and some basic pruning.It doesn't sound too bad, but when there are thousands of buds it becomes miserable. All those years of schooling, to earn a degree, just to work on an orchard? We didn't thnk we would make it past the second day, but we've toughed it out and know we can do it for a few weeks. We are staying at the friends house and it is working out great. It may be some time before we can post some pictures and write about our prework trip. We just figured we would let ya'll know what's going on. There is no reason for anybody to be jealous of us now ;-)

North Island Adventures Part 2

So our initial plan was to go to The Bay of Islands, rent a boat, and cruise around the islands for a day, then head back the next day. Plans changed.

So first we made it to Whangarei, (here in NZ, the “wh” makes the “f” sound just like the “ph” does) and decided to stop over for the evening. This is still an hour or so south of the Bay of Islands, but we read about some fun things to do here so we decided to stay a while. Why not? We got a camper van. 

It was a little too cold and cloudy to go to beaches, so we decided to scare ourselves by going caving instead. The caves were unguided, had running water flowing through it, and were completely dark requiring us to use our headlamps to find our way. The water ranged from being ankle deep to waist deep, and it was cold! Lucky for us, and our lack of cave experience, there was only one path in and out, and it was impossible to get lost. The main attraction of the caves was glowworms, and these could be seen when we turned off our headlamps. There were some glowworms by themselves, but then there were also clusters of hundreds of glowworms that lit up the ceilings of the cave like tiny little stars. This was such a cool thing to experience, and being unguided, added extra excitement and a little bit of fear (we’ve seen one to many movies with caves, ie “The Descent”).

Once we were almost to the end of the cave, Jeremy decided to read the brochure/map of what other life we might also find in the cave…and sure enough, shortly after that we saw a fresh water eel right in the water we were walking in! Jeremy spotted it with his headlamp in the waist deep pool we had to walk through. It must have been at least 3 feet long, and it was ugly.  So now not only are we in a dark cave, we now had to wade in water knowing there’s at least one big eel in it. Eventually the eel swam under some rocks and allowed us to pass by.  We got through that pool as fast as we could! After that, we saw 3 more eels on our way out of the cave. Each time we were trying to keep our feet out of the water and use our rock climbing experience to keep us away from the eels.  We eventually made it out, and it’s a good thing Jeremy didn’t mention the eels any sooner, or I might not have gone into that cave.

The following day in Whangarei we did a small hike in the area that went through an old tree forest, along a river and to a waterfall. This forest was unique for the type of trees it had, which was called the Kauri tree. These trees are gigantic, both wide and tall, and now are being protected from getting cut down for lodging. After spending the night in Whangarei, we thought we were going to the Bay of Islands, but plans changed again, and we headed further north. We decided to go to the top of the North Island, to a spot called Cape Reinga.

After driving for hours on hilly roads with many winds and turns, we finally got to Cape Reinga. The roads here are ridiculous and they never stay straight for too long, making me (Michelle) a little car sick. We finally made it to Cape Reinga and this is where the Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea come together.  What a cool thing to see with waves from both waters colliding together! At the end of the peninsula there is a spectacular light house that we hiked out to.

While we were up North we read about some great fishing in the area but we were totally clueless on what to buy, what to use, where to go, and what to expect. We went to a local shop and they gave us some tips, but the fishing is much different than what we are used to. We decided to give it a try at the campground we were staying at. Since it was a little chilly and windy I carried Michelle across a small river and we fished from the rocks in order to get the bait deeper (compared to the beach).

I fished for about an hour with no luck. I was wet and cold so I was ready to pack up and head in.  I handed the pole to Michelle so I could clean up and sure enough she got a bite. I carried her across the river, I froze my ass off, I baited the hook, and SHE gets the fish? Well actually it spit the hook out after a couple minutes of fighting, but it was enough to keep us out there for another 30 minutes or so. We ended up getting a couple more bites, but couldn’t land any because we were on the rocks. The next day we tried a different spot, closer to the beach, and I was able to land a 30 inch Kahawai. Later on that day, after fishing, we hiked about an hour to a huge secluded beach and I had to go swimming since I've never been in the Tasman Sea before.

So after the 3 day detour we finally headed to The Bay of Islands. We’ve been told that the bay is nothing special from shore. If you really want to experience the bay of islands you need to do it on a boat. We found a cheap boat rental for the day. We grabbed our fishing rod and bait, a couple of pops and snacks and we were on our way. We were both anxious to catch some snapper fish so we immediately started fishing. Again, we are new to the ocean fishing and we were totally clueless on the techniques. About 10 minutes later were trying a different spot. Lets try this spot then… 20 minutes later and we’re pulling anchor to try a new spot. After some time we decided to drive around the islands and take in all that the area has to offer. The islands were beautiful and the ride was quite nice, but we still needed to catch a fish. So Michelle took control of the boat and drove us to what she said was a good fishing spot (as if she does it all the time). Sure enough after 20 minutes, Michelle pulls up a snapper. She/we were so excited to finally catch one. Our trip was complete, but a couple minutes passed and she’s pulling up another one! This one is a bit bigger. Apparently, Michelle knows what she’s doing when it come snapper fishing. 

She gave me some “tips” and with the last piece of bait I was able to pull up one as well. Mine was the biggest, but she got more. It was a great way to end the day. We got a great cruise in, had fun fishing, and got a nice meal out of it too.

We are now back at Hamish and Heather’s place in Orewa for a few days. We are looking for paying work, but if that doesn’t happen soon, we will go back to the “farm-stay” work. Hamish took me out fishing this morning and we did quite well. I caught about 6-7 snapper and Hamish got 6-7 too. I’m finally getting used to the snapper fishing here, I just hope my small cheap reel holds up.

So we have had an amazing experience so far. We are just going with the flow and taking every opportunity given to us. We are about done exploring the north part of the island and are planning to head south soon (the south part of the north island). We hope you are all enjoying this blog and we love reading the comments; keep them coming!

Picasa link: Northland Pics including Bethel's beach

Previous blog's pics: Tawharnui Regional Park