Victoria and I flew into Auckland and got on the road in our campervan on Friday afternoon. We drove south out of the Auckland’s urban area towards Tongariro National Park. It wasn’t all that riveting a drive through flat farmland, but we did stop at Raglan to walk on the beach during the sunset. Raglan is a surfer’s haven and had a very relaxed feeling. The houses in the small town were set among the small hills that led down to the harbour which was turned orange and pink in the sunset.
We took some amazing hikes in Tongariro National Park on Saturday. Even though it’s winter down here the weather was perfect for tramping, sunshine but not too warm. Our first tramp was a short loop through native bush between Mt. Ruapehu and Mt. Ngauruhoe (Mt. Doom from Lord of the Rings) to see Taranaki Falls. Then we went up to do the first few hours of the Northern Circuit Loop that took us past a mountain stream, mountain springs, and up the side of Mt. Doom. The views were magnificent, especially towards the end, with the alpine plains covered with snow and the Emerald and Blue Lakes laid out at our feet. 
We spent the night near Taupo and went to Rotorua for Sunday. On the way we stopped at Huka Falls, a short waterfall with brilliant blue frothy water. An amazing amount of water goes over the 9-m tall falls- 200,000 litres every minute (Enough to fill five Olympic sized swimming pools)! The weather was terrible so we ended up going to some thermal pools. We drove north along the Bay of Plenty to spend the night at the base of the Coromandel Peninsula.
We took a nice hike at Taruia in the morning to the top of Mt. Paku. The small, pyramidal-shaped mountain sits at the edge of the harbour between Taruia and Pauanaui and gave us a beautiful 360 degrees view. We could see up the western coast of the Peninsula, past the towns to the forested hills inland, and all of the small islands along the coast. There were surfers shredding up the waves at the entrance to the harbour, their small forms almost indistinguishable from the blue water from our high view. A rainbow stretched from the ocean into the inland hills.
We stopped by Hot Water Beach and Cathedral Cove on our way north before looping back down the eastern coast to make the drive into Auckland. It was high tide when we got to the Hot Water Beach, so we weren’t able to dig our own thermal pools out of the sand at the water’s edge, but it was nice to see it either way. The hike into Cathedral Cove was beautiful, taking us through native bush filled with fern trees and towering evergreens. The sea arch at Cathedral Cove wasn’t all that impressive and the small beach was filled with tourists, even though it’s the off-season, so we didn’t spend too much time there.
We had dinner at Food Alley in Auckland, rated the best Asian fare for quite a few years. There were tons of stalls to choose from with large portions for cheap prices of all kinds of Asian food. I ended up choosing Indian food, but I wished we had spent more time in Auckland so I could have tried the other types!
We drove toward Northland before stopping to spend the night. On Tuesday we took a nice long walk along the Hatea River in Whangarei. It was like a tropical paradise, except not very warm, walking next to the ambling stream beneath the palmy plants and huge ferns. Just north of the Hatea River Walk we walked on the canopy walkway in AH Reed Kauri Park. The view from halfway up the trunks of the magnificent trees was magical, a small stream winding through the forest floor beneath us among shorter trees and ferns. We stopped at Whangarei Falls on our way out of town, they’re the most photographed waterfall in New Zealand, but not the most impressive. We spent the night at Paihia at the Bay of Island. 
It was a beautiful morning in the Bay of Islands on Wednesday. The soft sunshine lit up the harbour of Paihia, making the small islands that filled the water spots of green among the sparkling water. The town was sleepy and relaxed in winter, probably a stark contrast to the bustling atmosphere of the high season. The scenery was amazing as we drove north along the Bay of Islands. We stopped in Keri Keri to go to Makana Chocolatier where they make Kiwi-style chocolates from all local ingredients. We stopped at a few bays along the loop north, but my favorite was Wainui, the small bay lined with an empty beach. The water was calm and only a few houses lined the shoreline between the beach and the vibrantly green hills. We stopped in Mangonui for Victoria to get the “best” fish and chips in the world (as a local man told us).
As the day was beginning to turn into night we arrived at the Waipou Kauri Forest, the largest remaining kauri forest in New Zealand, and stopped to see Tane Mahuta. Tane is the largest kauri tree in the world and is more than 2000 years old.
In the morning we took a nice peaceful walk through Trounson Kauri Park before going back north a ways to a tramp that took us past Yakas, the 7th largest kauri tree, Te Matua Ngahere, the 2nd largest, and the Four Sisters, four kauri trees whose bases have melded together. The kauri trees are breathtakingly large and ancient, we stood just looking at them for minutes. All of the paths near the kauri trees were raised off the ground on boardwalks because the root systems of the kauri are so delicate that being walked on would kill the trees. On the hike we walked through Cathedral Grove, a clearing in the forest that is filled with towering kauri trees. It was one of the most peaceful places I’ve ever been and my favorite place that I’ve seen in New Zealand.
We took some amazing hikes in Tongariro National Park on Saturday. Even though it’s winter down here the weather was perfect for tramping, sunshine but not too warm. Our first tramp was a short loop through native bush between Mt. Ruapehu and Mt. Ngauruhoe (Mt. Doom from Lord of the Rings) to see Taranaki Falls. Then we went up to do the first few hours of the Northern Circuit Loop that took us past a mountain stream, mountain springs, and up the side of Mt. Doom. The views were magnificent, especially towards the end, with the alpine plains covered with snow and the Emerald and Blue Lakes laid out at our feet. We spent the night near Taupo and went to Rotorua for Sunday. On the way we stopped at Huka Falls, a short waterfall with brilliant blue frothy water. An amazing amount of water goes over the 9-m tall falls- 200,000 litres every minute (Enough to fill five Olympic sized swimming pools)! The weather was terrible so we ended up going to some thermal pools. We drove north along the Bay of Plenty to spend the night at the base of the Coromandel Peninsula. We took a nice hike at Taruia in the morning to the top of Mt. Paku. The small, pyramidal-shaped mountain sits at the edge of the harbour between Taruia and Pauanaui and gave us a beautiful 360 degrees view. We could see up the western coast of the Peninsula, past the towns to the forested hills inland, and all of the small islands along the coast. There were surfers shredding up the waves at the entrance to the harbour, their small forms almost indistinguishable from the blue water from our high view. A rainbow stretched from the ocean into the inland hills.
We stopped by Hot Water Beach and Cathedral Cove on our way north before looping back down the eastern coast to make the drive into Auckland. It was high tide when we got to the Hot Water Beach, so we weren’t able to dig our own thermal pools out of the sand at the water’s edge, but it was nice to see it either way. The hike into Cathedral Cove was beautiful, taking us through native bush filled with fern trees and towering evergreens. The sea arch at Cathedral Cove wasn’t all that impressive and the small beach was filled with tourists, even though it’s the off-season, so we didn’t spend too much time there. We had dinner at Food Alley in Auckland, rated the best Asian fare for quite a few years. There were tons of stalls to choose from with large portions for cheap prices of all kinds of Asian food. I ended up choosing Indian food, but I wished we had spent more time in Auckland so I could have tried the other types! We drove toward Northland before stopping to spend the night. On Tuesday we took a nice long walk along the Hatea River in Whangarei. It was like a tropical paradise, except not very warm, walking next to the ambling stream beneath the palmy plants and huge ferns. Just north of the Hatea River Walk we walked on the canopy walkway in AH Reed Kauri Park. The view from halfway up the trunks of the magnificent trees was magical, a small stream winding through the forest floor beneath us among shorter trees and ferns. We stopped at Whangarei Falls on our way out of town, they’re the most photographed waterfall in New Zealand, but not the most impressive. We spent the night at Paihia at the Bay of Island. It was a beautiful morning in the Bay of Islands on Wednesday. The soft sunshine lit up the harbour of Paihia, making the small islands that filled the water spots of green among the sparkling water. The town was sleepy and relaxed in winter, probably a stark contrast to the bustling atmosphere of the high season. The scenery was amazing as we drove north along the Bay of Islands. We stopped in Keri Keri to go to Makana Chocolatier where they make Kiwi-style chocolates from all local ingredients. We stopped at a few bays along the loop north, but my favorite was Wainui, the small bay lined with an empty beach. The water was calm and only a few houses lined the shoreline between the beach and the vibrantly green hills. We stopped in Mangonui for Victoria to get the “best” fish and chips in the world (as a local man told us).
As the day was beginning to turn into night we arrived at the Waipou Kauri Forest, the largest remaining kauri forest in New Zealand, and stopped to see Tane Mahuta. Tane is the largest kauri tree in the world and is more than 2000 years old.
In the morning we took a nice peaceful walk through Trounson Kauri Park before going back north a ways to a tramp that took us past Yakas, the 7th largest kauri tree, Te Matua Ngahere, the 2nd largest, and the Four Sisters, four kauri trees whose bases have melded together. The kauri trees are breathtakingly large and ancient, we stood just looking at them for minutes. All of the paths near the kauri trees were raised off the ground on boardwalks because the root systems of the kauri are so delicate that being walked on would kill the trees. On the hike we walked through Cathedral Grove, a clearing in the forest that is filled with towering kauri trees. It was one of the most peaceful places I’ve ever been and my favorite place that I’ve seen in New Zealand.
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