My 2014 Adventure: Travels to Singapore, Australia & New Zealand

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Monday, June 2 – Friday, June 6, 2014

Our last week was kind of a whirlwind! Before leaving Taupo we stopped at Huka Falls, and then headed to Rotorua to see Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. Wai-O-Tapu is the largest area (18 km²) of hydrothermal activity inside the Taupo Volcanic Zone. The area consists of collapsed craters, cold and boiling pools of water and mud, and steaming fumaroles (an opening in the earth’s crust). It takes about an hour and a half to get through the hydrogen sulfide smelling park, and you get to see different coloration from mineral deposits. We saw green (colloidal sulfur/ferrous salts), orange (antimony), purple (manganese oxide), white (silica), yellow-primrose (sulfur), red-brown (iron oxide), and black (sulfur and carbon). The most iconic formation is the Champagne Pool. This 700 year old spring is 65m wide and 62m deep, with a steaming 160˚F surface temperature and escaping bubbles of carbon dioxide. The pool has an interesting color combination of blue with an orange rim, caused by deposits of gold, silver, mercury, sulfur, arsenic, thallium, and antimony. I also loved the Devil’s Bath at the end of the trail, a lime green pool inside a rugged-edged crater.

We drove into the city of Rotorua in the afternoon to get some information and see the lake. I saw my favorite quote of the trip on a sign outside a restaurant saying, “No free WIFI. You’re just going to have to talk to each other!” That’s how I’ve been feeling this trip, connecting with nature, and more and more appalled by people addicted to their smart phones. Sorry, rant over. We camped that night at Lake Okareka and witnessed a beautiful pink sunset. In the morning we drove back to Lake Rotorua for breakfast. At this point, we weren’t very sure what to do next so we sporadically decided to head to the Coromandel Peninsula via Tauranga. In Tauranga we climbed Mt Maunganui, had lunch on the beach, took a walk, and ate gelato. We continued on to Waihi, our gateway to the Coromandel Peninsula. Waihi has an operating gold and silver mine; it was very cool to see the excavating equipment in action. By nightfall we had reached the Wentworth Valley Campground, complete with surveillance cameras, a Rottweiler watch dog, drop toilets, and cold showers. We had to perform two shallow river crossings over a cement slab to get there, and were sort of sad we went to so much trouble. I’d say avoid this place if ever you travel to Coromandel.

The next couple of days were more beautiful though. We saw Hahei Beach, Cathedral Cove, and Hot Water Beach. Hot Water Beach was my favorite! In the past, volcanoes developed large underground reservoirs of heated water which escape to the surface over time. It cools along the way, but can have temperatures as hot as 147˚F and flow rates as high as 15 L/minute. This spring was located on the beach and could be accessed at low tide, between 4 and 6pm. When we arrived we grabbed a shovel and Paul dug us our own little pool. There was strategy involved: you didn’t want to be too close to the spring (too hot), not too far away (too cold), had to continually keep digging your pool deeper due to collapsing sand, and build a sand wall to protect your hole from encroaching waves. It was well worth it though, like an outdoor (and free) spa treatment!

The next day we saw Otama Beach, Coromandel Town, and Thames. It was uneventful and the following day we had to return the van in Auckland. We hadn’t made accommodation plans because there was no internet, and thankfully my friend Mariel and her family saved us! They graciously allowed us to stay with them and Paul and I are so grateful. The last four days of Paul’s time was spent exploring Auckland, visiting the black sand beaches of Piha, and cooking delicious foods for us like Pain Perdu (French toast), zucchini gratin, and leek and feta quiche. It was a very sad day when I rode the bus to the airport with him and we said our goodbyes. However, I am planning a trip to France before I head back to the US so our adventures can continue. Paul, you were a superb travel companion!

Champagne Pool, Wai-O-Tapu, Rotorua

Devil's Pool, Wai-O-Tapu, Rotorua

Sunset over Lake Okareka

Mt Maunganui, Tauranga

Cathedral Cove, Hahei

Hot Water Beach, Hahei

Coromandel Town

Estuary near Miranda

My mantra for life

Downtown Auckland

Piha Beach, notice the amazing black sand

Saturday, May 31 – Sunday, June 1, 2014

It took us until noon to drive from Waitarere Beach to Tongariro National Park. It’s a remote location in the central part of the north island where Mt Tongariro, Mt Ngauruhoe, and Mt Ruapehu all meet up (all active volcanoes). This area is considered a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage Site, meaning it is a site which signifies outstanding universal value based on its natural heritage. A UNESCO site relevant to the Midwest is Cahokia Mounds, native peoples’ burial sites in Illinois along the Mississippi River. Basically, UNESCO sites are amazing and a big deal and I feel very fortunate to have seen the volcanoes at Tongariro National Park.

We found a spot at the only holiday park in Whakapapa and hiked for a couple hours along Silica Rapids, named for the silica deposits on the Waikare Stream. This walk offers clear views of Mt Ngauruhoe and Mt Ruapehu on a clear day, but due to the clouds it was as if Mt Ruapehu did not exist. Along the walk, Paul was excited at the prospect of coming back onto the track that night to look for kiwi birds. However, as soon as the temperature dropped with the setting of the sun we quickly forgot about bird watching. The next morning was beautiful, not a single cloud was in the blue sky. This weather was perfection for our five hour hike in Tongariro National Park. We took the Taranaki Falls trail and continued on to Tama Lakes. The trail was situated, again, between Mt Ngauruhoe and Mt Ruapehu. Ruapehu was gorgeous, covered in snow against the brilliant blue sky. In contrast, Ngauruhoe sat ominously in the distance, snowless with black rocks. Upon reaching the Lower Tama Lake, we continued on less of a trail and more of a channel in the loose, black, volcanic rock. Suddenly we were meant to ascend up the face of a hill, following what looked like ski poles in a zig-zag pattern. Once we got to the top of that hill, there was another small ascent up to the summit to view the Upper Tama Lake. It was breathtaking to have positioned ourselves smack-dab between two active volcanoes and two blue lakes. We took the obligatory souvenir photographs and carefully walked back down the hill of loose rocks and back on the trail the way we came.

We spent the afternoon driving away from Tongariro and north towards Lake Taupo. We reached the beautiful, clear lake in late afternoon, found a spot to park, and ended up meeting up with some of Paul’s friends from France. Yann and Claire had come to New Zealand to work in a vineyard at Hawke’s Bay. They were so nice and fun to talk to; Paul also enjoyed being able to speak French with people who actually understood what he was saying. (I can't imagine spending a month with someone who doesn't speak the same first language as you; Paul, you're a trooper!) We had wine and a snack at Vine Eatery and then headed to another bar for real food: burgers. By the time we got back to the campervan parking lot there were at least four other Juicy condo vans there. Around 2am, we heard someone try to stick their key into the lock at the back of our van...my guess is someone was drunk and forgot where they parked. Overall, a very nice time in Taupo!

Silica Rapids Walk: Mt Tongariro (left) and Mt Ngauruhoe (right)

Silica deposits on the Waikare Stream

Tama Lakes Walk: Mt Ruapehu

Upper Tama Lake

Mt Ngauruhoe & Upper Tama Lake

Mt Ruapehu & Lower Tama Lake

Sunset over Lake Taupo

Friday, May 30, 2014

In Wellington we spent the morning at Zealandia, a birdlife park right in the city. The founders reclaimed a valley and enclosed it with special fences to keep pests (possums, stoats, rabbits, etc) from climbing over or burrowing under. It was nice that the park was very quiet that day, with not many other patrons around. We were able to see many bird species including takahe, hihi, tui, saddleback, kaka, bellbird, kakariki, north island robin, fantail, and pateke (duck), as well as the Wellington green gecko and tree weta (giant insect). We were also able to talk with a researcher who was training north island robins to store mealworms by hiding the worms in a hollow log with a leather flap. We stood for 15 minutes watching the robin approach us to reveal the worm under the flap and seize it. He seemed to have a eat-one-hide-one system in place. We had lunch in the van in the Zealandia parking lot, took a quick walk through their exhibition, then drove over to the Te Papa Museum for Paul to experience. Since I’d already been there, I directed us through a highlights tour.

It was getting late so we jumped in the van and drove as far north as we could manage. We ended up stopping in this small town by the ocean called Waitarere Beach. We parked right beside the ocean for the night. After dinner we emerged from the van to use the restroom before bed; there was an orange tabby cat waiting outside our van. It turns out he hung around that place all night and would escort us to and from the bathroom. Even when Paul went to the restroom in the morning, the cat was waiting for him outside the bathroom door, and walked with him back to the van. He totally reminded me of that cat from the 90s TV show "Early Edition," where the guy gets tomorrow's paper and spends his days saving lives...the important thing though, is that it's the cat who delivers the newspaper.

Shag nests

Takahe, once thought to be extinct

North Island Robin

Kaka parrot

Zealandia Upper Dam

View of Wellington from Te Papa terrace

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Monday, May 26 – Thursday, May 29, 2014

Overnight in Marahau there was a storm with very strong winds that rocked our campervan and dropped some pretty big raindrops. In the morning we emerged from the van to see the hilltops covered in snow and realized just exactly what kind of storm happened…this is pretty out of the ordinary considering this area is subtropical in climate. We were worried it would be too cold for our kayaking trip; however the sun emerged when we finally got the kayaks on the water at about 9am. Paul and I were in a tandem kayak, and I was a little worried we would just fight the whole day. It turns out we worked very well together; I watched out for rocks under the water and Paul expertly steered us away from them. In the morning we kayaked along the coast from Anchorage to Bark Bay. They had already dropped off our lunch of sandwiches, giant muffins, chip-your-tooth Budget brand chocolate cookies, feijoas, and most importantly, hot drinks. Four other girls joined us who had been walking the coastal track in the morning and we kayaked up around Tonga Island in the afternoon. Paul and I saw so much wildlife while kayaking including a little blue penguin, fur seals, a sea star, and native birds. The little blue penguin was adorable, just floating in the ocean, taking a break from hunting in the sunshine. We were able to take a hot shower back at the base camp for the kayaking company, then drove the van through the snow-covered mountains to the northern start of the track in Golden Bay, Totaranui.

After staying the night in the Totaranui Department of Conservation (DOC) campground, we woke up and packed lunches to walk a portion of the track. It was an interesting day to say the least…we were fine in the beginning, crossing beaches as they came. However, from one beach we decided to scramble over the rocks to reach the next beach. I think it's safe to say we misread our map. It turns out we should not have done this rock climbing because we ended up stranded on a sandbar. We had to continue climbing over rocks and fallen trees and mud to re-enter the track. The bright side is we got to see a sting ray swimming in the inlet. Once back on the track we realized there was a low tide crossing as part of the normal route, so we took off our shoes and slowly traipsed over all of the empty shells that birds had picked over and waded through the shallowest parts of the inlet water. I was elated to discover tiny crabs about the size of my big toenail, which walked sideways to run away from our impending footsteps. We had lunch at a hut, then turned around and walked back to Totaranui. I loved all the wildlife we saw this day including birds, large and small crabs, various snails attached to sea rocks, the sting ray, a blue sea star, and a tiny-bottom-feeding shark.

It was this day that we realized how cold it could get at night. Usually we drive around during the day and the engine warms up the van. However, our van had been sitting cold all day while we hiked. We were huddled under our comforters as soon as the sun went down at 5pm. We tried to cook rice on our gas burner, but the flame was low and eventually we ran out of LPG. Therefore, we ate cold sandwiches in the cold van…followed by crunchy rice (because it was warm) for dessert. I find it ironic that our coldest night of the whole trip was in fact in Abel Tasman National Park, a subtropical climate.

The next day it was so difficult to get out of bed in the cold weather. However, we managed to get up and drive to Takaka to refill our LPG. We needed a break so we parked the van near a bird sanctuary outside of town by the sea. We aired out the camper, made crepes for brunch, and had a walk along the shore. In the afternoon we did the short walk around Te Waikoropupu Springs, or Pupu Springs as the locals call it. We drove through Nelson, stocked up on groceries, and camped at the Pelorus Bridge campground. This river was used in some scenes of The Hobbit movies; I think when the orcs were chasing the dwarves in all those barrels down the river. The next day, on Thursday, we wound our way to Picton and drove our van onto the ferry. It was so cool to be riding the ferry along with all of those large semis. Of course it was pouring rain in Wellington soon after we arrived, which made it a bit difficult to get around and find a place to sleep. We ended up in a parking lot just off the interstate, right beside the sea.

Sea kayaking at Abel Tasman National Park

Sea kayaking

Lunch break at Bark Bay

Fur seals resting at Tonga Island, part of the marine reserve

Sunset over Motueka

Snow in the hills above Abel Tasman National Park

One of my favorite birds, the Shag

Just one of the many beautiful shells we encountered on the golden sand beaches of Abel Tasman

Golden Bay

Abel Tasman National Park

Blue sea star, so amazing!

A much deserved rest on the beach after a day of hiking

A seagull staring at the dinner buffet

Paul being a tourist on the Wellington Ferry;)

Wellington Ferry, Marlborough Sounds

Thursday, May 22 – Sunday, May 25, 2014

We left Wanaka early this morning and stopped nearby for breakfast at Lake Hawea. The drive north from here was beautiful because these two large lakes hug the road as you drive towards Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers. In the village of Franz Josef we went to the Kiwi Wildlife Center and got to see two seven-month-old kiwi birds in their darkened enclosure. These were rowi kiwi birds, the rarest of kiwi birds in New Zealand. Due to invasive predators like possums, rats, cats, dogs and stoats, kiwi numbers have declined dramatically for these nocturnal, flightless birds. There is a breeding program underway though, and with each kiwi bird couple laying one egg per year, the comeback is slow but steady. That night we stayed in an awesome holiday park called the Rainforest Resort with a 20 person hot tub (they boasted it was the biggest hot tub on the South Island) and excellent kitchen and shower facilities. We try to only do holiday parks once every three days, so these times our money is well spent are a rare treat.

I was incredibly excited at the prospect of glimpsing my first glacier, but the weather on the West Coast just would not cooperate. The day we tried to see Franz Josef it rained 150 milimeters. It rained this much and more the following four days, and as we drove north the rivers were overflowing their banks and rushing towards the sea. It was therefore disappointing when we reached the Hokitika Gorge, usually flowing with turquoise blue water, was muddy and brown due to the large amounts of rainfall. However, we still went over the swing bridge and pretended we were Indiana Jones at the end of Temple of Doom…we were not going to let this grey weather, heavy rain, and ridiculous wind get us down! We had a slightly scary (for me) experience after leaving the gorge, going down a 6 kilometer, gravel, windy road looking for a campground. When we finally reached the campground it was deserted as were all of the surrounding homes. It reminded me of that movie “The Happening” and I made Paul drive us to a more populated area to stay the night. We ended up staying at Lake Mahinapua, right off of the highway south of Hokitika. In the morning we were getting petrol at the station, and the attendant said it was lucky we were headed north because the road south was closed due to flooding. Remember how I said there’s only one road to get everywhere in New Zealand? Now everyone headed south was stuck for a while.

Along our drive north we stopped at Punakaiki to see Pancake Rocks and Blowholes. These layers of limestone were created by shells of sea creatures compacting over time by the movement of tectonic plates. Now the rocks are continually shaped by the ocean waves crashing into them. It was one of the cooler things we’ve seen in New Zealand thus far! We kept on truckin’ further north to find a campsite just at dusk at Lake Rotoroa, part of Nelson Lakes National Park. It was here that the four days of rain ended and we finally caught a tiny glimpse of blue skyJ I was very surprised when we woke up in the morning the different kinds of birds we heard, hundreds of birds singing. It was gorgeous and in hindsight I wish I would have used my camera to take a video to record their songs. We had breakfast by Lake Rotoroa then headed north to Motueka, the gateway to Abel Tasman National Park. Here we stopped at the iSITE to get information on kayaking and the inter-islander ferry for later this week. We booked a full day kayaking tour for the morning around the shore of the park, as well as our ferry ticket to take our obnoxious, green campervan across the water to the North Island on Thursday.