Wellington was the first city I had been to in three months. It was time to party! I checked into the Maple Leaf lodge which was like an old 1960's student house caught in a time warp. My new friends there were similarly not working and some pretty drunken nights resulted. We were all still drinking in the morning when everyone else was just getting up. Somethings never change! Wellington was my favourite city in NZ. It has character and is very cosmopolitan. Yeah and it's got some pretty cool pubs and clubs. A city I could definitely live in.
Another visit to Lower Hutt to catch up with my relatives and meet some more of the family. Feeling rested and having been well looked after, it was time to head North. Taupo was my first stop. Within 30 minutes of arrival I was heading towards the airfield to do a tandem sky dive. Feeling very confident with my previous (sky) dive I enjoyed the 20 minute flight to 15,000ft, with amazing views over Lake Taupo, the volcanic Mount Ruapehu and across to the Pacific Ocean. The sky dive was amazing, I want to go solo next time!!
The next day I was up at 5.30am to catch the bus to do the Tongariro Crossing. A one day walk through craters of an active volcano and past Mt Ngauruhoe (Mt Doom in Lord of the Rings). It was mid October and still winter conditions, it snowed for most of the way and was very cold. I thought I'd left the winter behind. This was in contrast to the ground which was warm. Digging stones up whose undersides were way too hot to touch. Sulphurous steam belching from the mountainside. It's wasn't just my egg sarnies smelling bad. Unfortunately the views were not great with the low clouds.
I had done crossing with a French skier who had also been in Queenstown during the winter. We decided we must get one more day on the mountain and that mountain had to be a volcano. It was the last day of the season at Turoa Skifield on Mount Ruapehu. Another early start and after a 2 hour drive we were greeted with bluebird sky and some very icy pistes. The snow softened up nicely and a great day was had. I'd love to do a season there, the terrain was amazing and it is possible to hike to the rim of the crater. During an eruption there, just 2 months ago, a hiker lost their leg after a huge rock landed on him. Brings a whole new meaning to the (snowboard) term 'death cookie'.
The earths crust is very thin in New Zealand and there are numerous thermal areas, the best of which is at Wai-o-tapu. It's on the front cover of the 'Rough Guide' so it must be good. Lots of multi coloured bubbling pools and a sickening smell of Sulphur.
Snowboarder dude turns surfer dude, after a 4 day surfing course at Raglan. Stood up the first time. My instructor said my balance is good because I can snowboard. Having now seen the beaches at Bondi and Byron Bay in Australia, these were some pretty serious waves I had been in. The force of the current across the beach was incredible, one moment the water would be at knee level the next over my head. Quite intimidating for the likes of me. Waves more scary than avalanches, not sure about that one. Raglan was a cool little surfer's town, the hostel I stayed in was deep in the bush and very laid back.
So in one week I'd been sky diving, snowboarding and surfing. That rates as a top week in my blog. So far this trip has really focused on me and my pursuit of pleasure. This, I consider, I have pretty much excelled at. Time to give something back to the world in thanks. I think I should do some voluntary work in the less developed countries I will be traveling though.
My time in New Zealand was nearly over and I had to sell my car in Auckland. Checked into the Uenuku Lodge, and got my car sold in a day. Four months of trouble free motoring for less than 400 quid, should have parked it up for my next visit, yeah come on Toyota some sponsorship wouldn't go a miss! Even made a small profit on the car! With that task complete it was time to kick back, put my feet up and relax. After all it had been a tough couple of weeks. Okay lets get this straight, drink beer and have a crazy time with the cool crowd of people that were staying there. After a hard weekend of drinking we were all sitting out in the sun on the Sunday afternoon drinking beer and waiting for the food to cook on the BBQ. Nice!!
I had 3 days until my flight so I hired a car and headed to Northland. I wanted to see the giant Kauri trees before I left. Walking through the forest past some big trees, Te Matua Ngahere the 'Father of the Forest ' comes into view. The trunk is 16.4m across, it's incredible. Close by is Tane Matua, the Lord of the Forest which is over 2000 years old. In this company I felt very young.
Cape Reinga is the most Northerly point of New Zealand. This is the point where the currents of the Pacific Ocean meet the swells of the Tasman Sea, the sea is like a cauldron of crashing waves. It's a very sacred Mauri place, it's where the spirits leave to go to another world.
My time to go to another country. Come back soon for the next installment 'A date with Kylie'.
