Red Woods – This was a descent hike with the highlight being able to view the Whakawhara thermal park from above. It also takes you through a large forest of California Redwood Trees, which were introduced nearly a hundred years ago, but don’t grow to their enormous size as they do back in the States. I was also
able to see NZ’s timber mills hard at work as they cleared mountain sides and feverously replanted trees back again into nice neat rows so they can come back and do it all over again.

Wallaby Spotting – I came to know a local couple staying where I was until they got their own place named Simon and Ralene. They were curious of all the different animals from back home and took a liking to squirrels, bears, and chipmunks. Plus they told me of all theirs here. They mentioned a wallaby and I thought they were joking and were only made up animals that only existed in children’s books. I was wrong as they took me out one night to spot them. Wallabies are nocturnal animals and come out into grassy fields to feed at night. So we went to a small airstrip on the outside of town with a high power ‘torch’ in hand. We went in on foot stopping periodically to spot the area around us. But nothing was found…..we continued on…..with the same result…but then wait! It was a wallaby!….No, no it was only a couple of possums. With a full moon in front of us, large clouds hanging still in the sky, and only the brightest stars shining through we moved closer to the edge of the field…..Spotted again…and Yes! Ha Ha! A real wallaby! We thought it was another possum at first but as soon as it started hopping away like a little, tiny kangaroo we knew it wasn’t. Simon and I darted after it getting nowhere except scaring it off into the bush lining the outskirts. Spotlighted again and saw another and several more hiding in trees and bushes. We didn’t chase this one, just watched it hop along and
eventually go out of site. Simon then took us to one other spot. It was a little dirt road leading down to a nearby lake. Nothing was seen…..until we reached the end of the trail. It was a lone wallaby. I ran after this one hoping to get a single photo of it, but the little buggers are much quicker than they appear as it easily escaped away. We returned back to the motor lodge chasing possums along the way in the car. They really spazz out when you honk at them. You’d think they’d be smart and quickly hide in the nearby shrubs, but no…..No, no, no……They jump into the middle of the road jumping and skipping from side to side in the most peculiar manner for a good 20-30 yards before taking to safety. It was a fun night and I returned back to my tent having seen my first wallaby.

Before hand Simon also took me to his Dad’s house to get the torch, but to show me all the pigs they had hunted in the past. Apparently, his Dad has gone out nearly every weekend since he was 15 to catch them. There were photo albums stock full of all their catches with the date and poundage of each pig. Simon seemed to be able to recall a storey for nearly every photo. He then took me into the garage where the ceiling was lined with the jaws of all the pigs they caught. It was kind of creepy at first and reminded me of the movie Predator.

Rainbow Mountain – Was a relentless uphill battle up until the very end. The trail keeps you mesmerized though as it shifts in a mixture of colors varying from reds, whites, browns, yellows, and blacks and takes you by numerous steam updrafts and two emerald crater lakes. It left me winded and quite sweaty after reaching the summit, but the view more than made up for it. Next time though, I might drive up the service road on the backside of the mountain.

I left Rotorua yesterday in hopes of hiking the Tangariro Crossing while the weather was holding. But as soon as I arrived here the weather went south as did my health. Hopefully it will all clear up by this weekend as well as my cold so I can make the trek across NZ’s acclaimed “best day walk.”

I recieved this email recently and thought I’d share incase anyone was having problems….

“So, funny story for you. You know how we would always joke that stuff didn’t work and then just having you walk into the office would miraculously fix everything. Well, I’ve got one better than that. Our printer has been on the fritz. So we are in the middle of printing stuff off and it had JUST been working perfectly fine, and then all of a sudden it freaks out and stops working. Like, the green light wouldn’t blink and it was just dead. So the person I was printing stuff for was like, should I come back? And I was like, well, I wish it was the easy because now that Andy took off to NZ, and yadi yada yada…….. Ok, so here it comes. The SECOND I said your name, the printer kicked into gear and started printing. I mean, are you freaking kidding me? It was really weird, but really funny too. So our new policy is to just yell your name at the computers and printers when they stop working.  So, you still have some freakish connection with these machines even half-way around the world.”

October 16, 2005 

In my new set of wheels I set off again from Orewa this time heading South to a little village called Waitomo where I spent a few days. For being so little it had a lot to offer and see. I was a bit of an idiot in the Peri Peri Caves, but other than that had a great time there. Listed below is what I did.

Ruakuri Trail – This trail was a definite highlight. It can be completed in as little as 30 minutes, but has so much to offer it takes much more than that. There are caves/tunnels throughout the trail to explore, and even one that is off the trail that you have to climb up into. Don’t know if I was allowed to go in it or not, but did anyway. The trail is even better at night as it lights up with glowworms along the face of the rock walls and along the rivers edge. It was a great experience as I found a little rock to climb out on the bend of the river, turn off my flashlight, and watch the glowworms light up the river as they clung to rock face hanging over. Then it was back to the car for a good nights rest. =)

Piri Piri Caves – These were the biggest of the caves that I explored, and may be the last as well. They were located on the outside of town about 30k and only a short jaunt up the mountainside brought you to the entrance. No one else was in the area judging by the lack of other cars in the pull off. I was amazed by the caves sized when I reached the entrance. These made the caves I explored previously look like mere tunnels. With a headlamp on and flashlight in hand I began my descent into the cave. Being by myself I knew I shouldn’t go in so far incase something should happen. But I once I went in a little ways, I went a little further, and then a little further….and soon came to a crossing between one cavern and another. To my luck it was the lowest point of the cave and all water seemed to run to it willingly making for a very muddy and slippery spot. Nonetheless, I decided to carry on and clinched the sides of the walls to keep balance as I maneuvered through. Halfway across I slipped, tried to catch my balance, but ended up catching a stalactite to the head instead. I dropped the f-bomb as I grabbed my head to try and control the pain, and at the same time keep from losing my headlamp. It was awful. I recovered though and of course  ontinued on like a complete idiot into a few more caverns. Luckily nothing particular happened in these and made my way out. I hiked back down to my car and began driving to the next destination. As I was doing so I reached up to scratch my head and ended up with a palm full of blood…..Great…..I think I scraped my head more than I bumped it and didn’t know what else to do besides let it bleed and clean itself. Plus I didn’t want to go back to town and have to drive all the way back to see the falls and natural land bridge. So I carried on to those two destinations before checking into a local campsite where I could get a hot shower. There’s only one word that comes to mind when thinking of my actions, and that word is dumbass.

Marakopa Falls and Mangapohue Natural Bridge – Both nice short hikes that are worthwhile. Marakopa Falls are supposed to be some of the nicest in New Zealand. The natural bridge trail was well done with numerous boardwalks following the river that passed underneath the bridge, and looped around into the
countryside so you didn’t have to back track. And if willing you could climb to the top of the bridge as well. It’s fenced off, but a step helping you over it more or less encourages it as long as you pretend you don’t see the “Danger – 24 Meter Drop” sign.

Waitomo Walkway – The trail starts out on the edge of town and is within walking distance of most all accommodations. After passing a heavily forested area you reach a stream that joins the trail on and off again the whole of the walk. The beauty of this tramp though, and my personal favorite, is that it is cut through reserve and private cattle and sheep farms. The landscape is largely green, rolling hills with fortress like limestone formations dotting their sides. The path is that of the cows, making for an extra muddy experience apart from the gaze of the livestock watching your every step until the next bend is reached. Both going and returning on the trail I was able to observe the farmers round up their herds and move them to another location. One man did it with him on his ATV and three dogs running alongside the cows nipping and barking at their heels until the desired direction was reached. The cows mooed feverishly, but in the end succumbed to their demands. Another group of men took to horseback to move their herd in a much similar fashion as before. The trek ultimately ends at the car park for the cave/glowworm trail I did two days prior. I watched tourists in wetsuits guided by a local company fit their rears to an appropriately sized tube before splashing into the river and off on an adventure. I quickly looped the Ruakauri Trail once more before heading back when it began to rain and eventually pour. This left me to seek shelter in the bush until it subsided so I could get back to my campsite 20 minutes away. The Waitomo Walkway was unique and had a certain flare that would bring me back to it. Only of course after a heavy rain that is. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention a duck hissed at me several times. Yeah, a duck. The tongue came out and everything. I don’t know if it was hurt or guarding eggs since it wouldn’t stand up, but one thing is for sure. It’s
lucky it didn’t attack because I would’ve had to pull out my 9mm and bust a camp in it.

Yesterday I headed out of Waitomo and took my time getting to the next stop of Rotorua. I was such the typical tourist along the way as I stopped to take photos here and there. But in the end made it and spent the day today exploring the California Redwoods forest and volcanic activity in the area, and trying to get caught up on all my emails as well. I’ll hopefully post more pictures in the next day or two.

I’ve managed to get some of my pictures uploaded into the gallery. So be sure to check out that and the 360 gallery as well because there’s some nice virutal tours of Harurua Falls trail and the Bay of Islands. Cheers!

…than cruising down Highway 1 listening to TLC in a new set of wheels…Life is good. =) Especially when you got a ’91 Toyota Corolla to roll in.

Back in the greater Auckland area again. Had a nice trip up North to the Bay of Islands where the weather was a bit nice.

I came to know quite a few other travelers passing through the area, but as all things come to an end we went our separate ways. I might meet up again with a kid named Alex from the UK later in Queenstown though.

Also did a few hikes up there which included the Paihia(Pie-here) lookout that takes you to an aerial view of the bay, the Haruru Falls trail which went through a great mangrove forest where the trail turned into an escalated boardwalk through the mangrove trees that are constantly in 1-2 feet of water, and checked out the Waitangi Treaty Grounds. The Treaty Grounds is where modern New Zealand was essentially born. There was s native Maori meeting house that decorated stunningly, a native Maori war canoe (the biggest one ever built supposedly), and great views of the area. I didn’t exactly plan on going to the Treaty grounds…just came upon it on the way back from the Haruru Falls trail trying to take a shortcut and ended up in the middle of it all, and some how bypassed the $12 dollar admission fee. =/

Now I’m back in Orewa looking for car at the moment. Decided I do want the freedom and flexibility that would come with it rather than sticking to a bus system. Stayed a backpackers called Pillows last night, but checked out this morning cuz it was kinda shady….and a man prolly in his 40’s looked to be living in the dorm I was in….and the other guy in there I never really met…he showed up sometime in the middle of the night mysteriously…I dunno, maybe it was the gloomy weather and the rain that put a damper on the place, but either way I didn’t feel comfortable staying around….and think we may have been treated pretty well at the backpackers in Paihia. So I’m back at Kerry’s house for the moment until I get a car and can continue on with the travels. They’re prolly regretting ever treating me so well since I showed up at their house again! =)

The magnificent view from the top of the Paihia Lookout trail on to the town and bay below.

…..A towel. Of all the things to forget I guess a towel isn’t all that bad. And since the hostel has a surplus of paper towels it’s not that big of deal. =)

First off, thanks to Heather and Ken who hosted me for a night last night up at their place in Bayly’s Beach, just outside of Dargaville. I came to know them through Kerry and Darrell and was invited to stop by for a night on my way up North.

Plans changed, and I decided to skip over Opononi and the sand boarding since the wind won’t cease on the West coast, and prolly wouldn’t have made for an enjoyable experience. And just came straight to Paihia. Staying in Bay Adverturers Backpackers at the moment. A backpackers is where you buy a bed for the night that is often times in a shared room with 3-5 others, and then there’s a shared kitchen, living area, and other amenities. There are peeps from all over here. I’ve met people from Taiwan, Austrailia, Germany, England, and Argentina.

It’s a bit daunting being completely on my own now. I’ll have to break my shy-shell and become a bit more outgoing to meet people.

Paihia is in the Bay of Islands, which is exactly as it sounds, a bay filled with islands. It’s quite beautiful too, still cloudy, but warm and no wind. Looks to be a few easy hiking trails in the area that I’ll hit up in the next couple days before I start heading back down the coast.

Here’s a picture of Helen and Ken from Bayly’s Beach.

I’d like to send a BIG THANKS to Kerry, Darrell, and Paige for being great hosts and providing a very warm welcome into this beautiful country of theirs, New Zealand. So thank you guys for all that you did to help me get situated and adjusted to life in another country!

October 2, 2005 

And Come Back Another Day!……..

This is the most water I have ever seen fall out of the sky. For the last two days there has been a constant flow of rain with light letups at times. The winter can’t seem decide if it wants to turn its job over to Spring quite yet. It’s all right though, I’ve still been getting out on walks with the host family even though we come back absolutely soaked.

I’ll be heading up North soon. I booked a ticket today with a company called Magic Bus (www.magicbus.co.nz) that provides transport throughout the whole of New Zealand. The route I booked runs from Auckland to Paihai/Bay of Islands and back. The nice thing about it all is you can get on and off as much as you’d like
along the way, where you like. So I’m looking at stopping off in Opononi on the West coast to do a bit of tramping in the woods there and perhaps boogy-board on nearby sand dunes. Then head over to the East coast where the Bay of Islands are to see that and Haruru Falls.