Lake Taupo & on

Hi! Currently blogging with a Ginger Beer in hand from a car park in.. Auckland! Yep we decided to spend our last night out here in our latest favorite city. The hustle & bustle is even bigger than last Sat. night. This may be due to a 3-day weekend for Kiwis.. It's the Queen's birthday weekend! The last 2 days have been eventful. We ended up coming to our senses and skipping The Tongariro Crossing. Huge bummer but we got to do other epic stuff! Plamen says he wants to come back to do it and I say take the Go-Pro and record the adventure for me! ;)) 

Yesterday we discovered that a "walk" here is actually a hike!!! We trekked to Huka Falls which is near Lake Taupo. It wasn't strenuous but there were many ups & downs on the trail. Oh yeah we didn't spend much time on the Lake T but it looked astonishing. It's the biggest one in NZ. Beautiful homes surrounded it! So the start of Huka Falls led us to a thermal pool.. The water was the perfect temp but we skipped it! It looked like a spot popular among locals and tourists. It took us about 40 minutes from the parking to the falls. Once we got there, we were blown away!! The falls were just wonderful! The water was a beautiful turquoise blue & guess you can even take a rapid jet through them for $100/pop. Hah!! We saw to view it from different spots & took plenty of photos. We returned back to the car and headed out of Lake Taupo towards Waimangu to the attraction we weren't able to the do the day before. 

Got there, bought (student ;) tix) & began the journey around the park. Winter is the park's low season so we had the place to ourselves! We passed many craters and cool steamy volcanic areas.. Like something out of a movie!! Reminded me much of the 90s film Dante's Peak. It was near but we didn't get to see any lahar due to lack of recent eruptions. Boo!! I was looking forward to that. PM dared to touch the water from one of the boiling streams and guess what- it was boiling!! Haha!! We ran into many fantail birds along the way and they began to follow us. Sweet little birds.. After a trek through a  swamp, we had finally reached the end of it! There was a view spectacular view of Lake Rotomahana. Quiet, serene and there were even black swans. We saw a hedgehog & wild black pigs as well in the area. Anyhow, It took us about 2 hours from start to finish. Tiring but worth it and fun!! 

After that we made the 2-hr. journey to Raglan. We got to a campsite after dark and had some lamb chops on the grill before going to bed. The weather was a little frightful but it cleared up the following morning. Once we woke up, we walked a wee bit to see the black sand beach which is part of The Tasman Sea. So very cool!! Sand was so soft but water was freezing. The waves were a little more rough-- guess it's a hotspot for surfers! Didn't get to see any however.. :( We left the park and made our way to Bridal Veil Falls. Another great sighting of a 50M waterfall & there weren't any others around. Oh except some goats that were wandering through the trees! I must say the best part about these sights is that it almost always takes less than an hour to walk from parking to the view. It makes it such a quick trip and the reason we were so efficient this week. Ps- I never thought I'd use that word on vacay! 

We hung out at the falls for a bit and returned to Raglan to explore downtown. After shopping around some unique shops for souvenirs, we ended up at The Shack. It's a local organic cafe that serves baked & hot goods. We had the best mushroom soup there!! Deelish!! Great spot & I absolutely loved the atmosphere there. Surely one of my favorite beach towns. ;)

We left for Auckland and stopped at Villa Maria winery before going back to the city. It's the Most-Awarded winery in NZ so I had high expectations! It was an expansive winery but the wine was not enjoyable. What can I say- I'm a wine country girl and these wines were not comparable. :/

Beer done & about to head out for our last night in NZ! Cheers & thanks for keeping up with the blog!! Would love some comments.. ;)

Pix to come but I added some pix to the previous post! 

Tauranga & Rotorua

The town of Tauranga wasn't spectacular so we spent one night there and headed to Rotorua the next morning. Much of the waterfront of Tauranga was under construction so aside from cafés and shops- there was not much to see. It was also low tide that morning so The Bay of Plenty wasn't so plentiful! Once we were on our way to Rotorua, I looked through brochures for an activity. We stopped for some gas on our way there and was shocked to learn that gas is pumped before you pay in this country. Crazy right?! They really trust their citizens round here!

Our first stop was a thermal park that we saw as we were driving into town. The first whiff we got once we stepped out of the car was sulphuric & reminiscent of rotten eggs- not pleasant at all. After a few minutes, it went away (or we just got used to it!). :P Anyway, it was pretty neat to see steam flowing out from thermal deposits in the ground! Unfortunately, P and I were both feeling a little sick so we decided to take it easy at a Polynesian Spa. After all, it was voted one of the Top 10 International Spa's in the world! It was fairly affordable so we paid $34 a pop to relax in their thermal pools. Every pool there had a view of Lake Rotorua & it was relaxing indeed!!! Just what we needed after a few active days being explorers!! The only downside was they don't provide you towels or amenities. I thought this was silly especially considering their world ranking! We left after a few hours and headed for a campsite to charge up for the chilly night! It was one of the coldest nights yet.. The grass at our camp spot was frozen and so was the water to fill up our supply! Fortunately, the sun came out and we got to fill up before heading back into town. 

Once back in Rotorua, we tucked into a cafe and had some of the best coffee ever. I also had a delicious date & walnut muffin. I'm just loving the goods they have round here- ginger, figs and dates are among them. These are common ingredients around here! Funny enough, I used to cringe at those exact things as a kid but appreciate them so much now!  Afterwards, we shopped for some souvenirs, visited a Maori Art Gallery and headed out of town to an attraction called The Buried Village of Te Wairoa. On our way there, we stopped at Blue Lake and took in the views. Pure beauty! Once we made it to the village, we took the self-guided tour. This attraction is unique because it is the actual location of a village that partially became covered in mud after a volcanic eruption in 1886. This eruption also created Lake Rotomahana which you'll see in the pix. We got to roam around the grounds with Thomas (the IPod guide ;)) and came across the old wooden huts of villagers and even some sheep. One of the huts belonged to a tohunga* who had predicted the eruption! The story goes that 4 days before the eruption, a nearby Lake Terawera tour guide and tourists saw a phantom canoe with peddlers that had the heads of dogs. The old man predicted that this was a negative omen indeed and urged the town to prepare for disaster. The eruption that buried about 150 people alive happened shortly after!! Creepy right?!! Anyway, a trout stream was a highlight and the best part was a 30m waterfall! Me oh my!! 

After about an hour there, we took off for the next attraction: Waimangu Volcanic Valley which was on the way to Lake Taupo (NZ's largest lake). We stopped at Green Lake down the road which as you'll see in pix, is directly opposite of Blue Lake. The color contrast is not that apparent but the green does appear slightly darker than blue. The big difference is Blue Lake offers kayaking etc. & Green Lake is completely preserved by the Maori so no touchy-touchy! We drove about 30 mins to our next attraction only to find we had missed the cut-off for the last tour. Boo! I was really looking forward to craters and as described in the brochure, "a newly-formed earth". Hah! Luckily, the road up and down was filled with plenty of sheep, elk and cows. That was quite the sight! 

So after the let-down, we drove off to Lake Taupo. On the way there we pulled into a glass-blown gallery which was neat. Many unique pieces with a hefty price tag! This Lava Glass gallery also offered lodging and classes. 

Once we made it to Lake Taupo, we were in for another bummer. Bad planning & poor weather has stopped us from one of our most lusted activities- The Tongariro Crossing. This 6-8 hour hike is not treacherous but due to it's location and altitude, weather conditions can become extreme within minutes! We came prepared with gear but have learned that wind speeds of 70km on the track have deterred shuttles from even heading that route. We've called just about every shuttle service! So we are currently kicking ourselves for not checking the weather and making this the first stop after Auckland! It had been sunny & decent earlier this week! Whining aside, unless the weather gods are good to us our last couple days here in NZ and the forecast looks up, we won't be risking our little lives! 

Aroha, MD 

*Tohunga- Maori village practitioner of a skill

Aroha- love 

The Coromandel Peninsula

Some more on the art gallery.. It was full of unique pieces from Maori culture. This included sculptures and paintings from different eras. The museum itself was very modern and we loved the sleek architecture! There was also a kid-zone where kids could make masks or get interactive with the computers. The featured gallery was about the Kangaroo Gang.. Some kid book I suppose. Anyway very cool and I took pix to show the kiddies in my life!! We stopped by a park afterwards and this was close to Auckland University. It was a beautiful park with a fountain and all. Loved it! 

Ok, after we left Mt. Eden, we headed for our first stop-- The Coromandel Peninsula. The drive from Auckland was about 3 hours and it was pitch black since we left in the eve. B.t.w, the stars come out at 6pm here! P drove so well and we really didn't know what was upon us on the road. Boy, were we amazed the next morning after we left our campsite! Green, green, green!!! Fields, hills, pastures and tons of open land around here. It's jaw-dropping beauty out here. I'm taking so many pix and hoping they'll justify this magical place. 

Once we arrived at Hot Water Beach park late that night- we cooked some burgers on the grill. We were starving & they were delicious! *Oh yeah, grocery here is $$$ and we bought food for the week that would be close to half the cost back in CA. This included milk, sandwich goods, burgers etc. Odd thing here is that eggs are not refrigerated! We bought em anyway and they taste fine!! Prices here are steep and that applies for dining as well. A small dinner for two was about $90-$100 and breakfast was close to $50! We even shared food at breakfast. We were expecting high costs but that was outrageous! 

After our quick din. Plamen (naturally) wanted to go check out the campsite and the Bouncy Pillow attraction they had. It was too cold and creepy- I asked him to go back to our car! Don't worry, he got to see it the next morning. Hah!! We headed to sleep shortly after that b/c we had an early wake up call for "Hot Water Beach" since we needed a low-tide time. Alarm went off for 0600 but we went back to bed for a lil' longer.. Hello! We are on vacay!!! Once we got up and ready (actually just me b/c of course Plamen was already on his toes), we drove down to the beach. Like I mentioned earlier, the 5 minute drive there was so pretty I thought I had it good. Nope! We got to the place and I was completely beside myself. The ocean, the rocks, the sand, the view-- perfection!!! Life is good when your point of view matches that of the sea!! We hurried down for a spot at this spectacular beach and Plamen worked a shovel to dig us a nice "pool" in the sand. It was tough because this beach gets it's name from the hot geysers below it. The water is boiling hot!!! You gotta watch your step and I ran in the ocean (like a wild animal) many times to cool off me toes!! Anyway, I took this opp. to return to the RV to make us some sandwiches and get a bucket in case we needed a cold water refresher from the ocean later on. I came back to a nice hot spot in the sand! After soaking for an hour or so- we jumped in the ocean for a dip. Best feeling ever!! This hot spot was popular for locals and tourists as it filled up quick! There were families & groups (some looked about our age) from NZ, Europe & USA! Even though we didn't chat with anyone, you'll see in the pix that we were quite snug with them!   We got a couple good hours there before the high tide came. Once it did, we packed up & left for Cathedral Cove.

I really thought things could not get better but C.C. blew me out of the water! We parked at the lot and took in the view of the islands in the ocean in front of us. As we made our way down, signs showed us that the cove was another 45 mins away. Sounded like a mini-hike so back to the RV to swap out our jandals ;) for durable shoes. As we made our way through the scenic forest, we ended up at some steep stairs before we got to the cove. The best part about getting there is that you don't immediately spot it! Then, we walked through some bushes and I started saying, ok- complaining "Where is it?? Do I have to swim to it?!". Nope! I turned the corner and there it was to my left- like nothing I had ever seen before. Thinking about it now literally gets me worked up! This giant cove was absolutely out of this world! We walked through it and it led to a small beach where we (finally) ate our sandwiches & snacked a bit. Plamen wandered around and I just relaxed on the soft sand. The weather was good and the waves were calm.. The Pacific Ocean as I'd never experienced it before. Very few people & so extraordinarily serene. From there, it was even easier to spot out the islands so that was very cool. As you'll see in the pix, many are named after the Maori. We hung for about an hour before we trekked back up. I wasn't ready to part ways so I did many double-takes! Oh yeah, I also wanted to avoid the flight of stairs back up to the hike- which before I forget was an easy hike with minimal incline. I was mesmerized by lots of exotic trees & plants too!! There were also farm animals grazing away along our trail.. Something out of a storybook fantasy!! We stopped at a snorkel site too that was in the same proximity. Finally, we made it back to the car and headed back to the campsite. 

From there, we drove down to Tauranga (situated in the Bay of Plenty). We left in the eve. again and the road in the wops wops was winding for a long time- I felt so sick! Thankfully, we made a pit stop at LiquourLand to stock up for the week and that made me feel somewhat better. :) All jokes aside, we were close to our destination and that was a huge relief! It had been a 3 hour long drive from Coromandel to get there. More to come on Tauranga and hot thermal springs in the sulphuric & stinky town of Rotorua. ;)

Kiwi English translations:

Jandals- sandals

Wops wops- out in the middle of nowhere 

Thanks for reading & lots of love to those at home!!!

Backcountry & RV

Auckland was a great city!! Our last stop there was Mt. Eden & we got to view Auckland and surrounding cities from up high at the peak. The most unique part of it was a huge crater that is now covered up with grass! There was a path to walk around it even though it was tempting to roll down!!

A little on our RV before I go on about our latest whereabouts.. It was really Plamen's idea b/c he wanted to roam NZ without obligations of any kind. If you know P- you know he's a laid-back, anything goes kinda guy!! I have to admit I was hesitant at first but it's been good to us!! It's equipped with a kitchen, potty & shower. The couch converts to a queen sized bed and is fairly comfy. We were picky when booking and Plamen wanted to make sure this one was new & had low mileage. Pix & description didn't lie and it's just as we expected. The maintenance on it is low-- the water tank needs to be emitted and refilled regularly so we just hit up a camp site to do that. The potty tank also needs to emptied every other day or so.. P did it last so I'm probably up next for it! Wooo!! However, my fave part of our home for the week is that it has a exterior grill! So far we have made some yummy burgers on it. Planning to cook some lamb chops tonight! I'll tell more about our grocery store experience later on. 

So overall, the con is that the engine is the size of a VW Beetle (1.8 Diesel) so it's having a big of a tough time working up the mtns. round here! Plamen has really been a rock star at driving this thing.. I have to say how impressed I am b/c he is driving on the other side of the road!! He's only had one hiccup but luckily there were no oncoming cars.. Oops! 

I will post more about our visit to Hot Water Beach & Cathedral Cove later.. You won't want to miss it!! 

Made it to Auckland

Kia Ora! We had a smooth flight to Auckland and waiting for the RV center to open up now. P & I both got a decent amount of asleep.. I watched Wolf of Wall St. & American Hustle- both great films. Leo's spectacular and love me some J. Lawrence.. Latest discovery are these Passport 'chines that expedite the Arrival process. So cool! 

PHEWWWWW THERE'S MCDONALDS!!! 😝😂😅

Off on our first journey of this trip

Just boarded the plane and ready for our 13 hour (yep, THIRTEEN) non-stop flight to Auckland, New Zealand! So far so good 'cept we discovered that we will need a visa to visit Australia so will need to get on that ASAP! 😁

Wish us luck (or rather Plamen) bc he tends to get very annoyed by me on long flights. I don't see why........🚀🚀🚀🚀

PS- A rather large fella-- think he was Fijian was gojng to sit next to us but looks like he was in the wrong seat so now a lady's next to us. PHEW!!! 

PSS- P just informed me that Wolf of Wall St., 12 Years A Slave, Gravity AKA Oscar movies of the year will be playing.. NO SLEEP TILL BROOKLYN!!!