Category: New Zealand

February 04, 2019

Today was a long driving day, maybe the longest of the entire trip. I estimated 5 hours driving time from Marahau to Karamea. It was another good weather day with few clouds.

After about 2 hours of driving we had our first stop at the Kawatiri Historic Railway walk. This was a short 20-minute walk to a old railroad tunnel. The trail went around the tunnel and then looped back through the tunnel. It was interesting reading information panels about the history of the area.

We had two other short stops at nice viewpoints: Buller Gorge and Kilkenny Lookout. Then we entered the West Coast region and drove to the town of Westport to get groceries and fill up on gas. There were no gas stations further north where we were going.

We followed the coast north and stopped at the Charming Creek Walkway. This was billed in the New Zealand Frenzy guidebook as a “must do” hike. It certainly was interesting with railroad tunnels, a swinging bridge, great views of the river, and a waterfall: Mangatini Falls. But the majority of the interesting area was after hiking through 30 minutes of nondescript forest, making it a 2-hour total round trip hike. Heinrich bailed out after we reached the waterfall since his knee was starting to hurt again. I walked further, went through a nice tunnel, and watched a Weka bird near Watson's Mill. Don’t get me wrong: I liked the hike, just not the first 30 minutes of nothing at the beginning and the end. Cut that part out and it would have been great.

It was another hour drive to Karamea. We checked into our cabin at the Karamea Holiday Park. This was by far the most spartan of all the places we had stayed. We had to pay $5 extra to get sheets and a blanket for the bed since only a bottom sheet was provided. There was a shared bathroom which did not bother me, but the cabin was advertised as having a kitchenette. Technically that was correct since it had a microwave, convection oven, hot plate, and refrigerator. But there was no sink and no utensils. The refrigerator did not have a freezer. So we ended up using the shared kitchen to cook our dinner. The shared kitchen had no plates or silverware, but there was a spatula and a few pots and pans.

We cooked our dinner of lamb chops, vegetable ragout, and baked potato. We used our paper plates and plastic utensils.

That evening all of the stars were out and we had a brilliant view of the night sky. I love seeing the Southern Cross!

February 03, 2019

We had booked the 9 AM Discoverer Day cruise (Astrolabe Beaches and Bays option) with Abel Tasman Sea Shuttles. It left from Kaiteriteri. We could have taken a free shuttle bus from Marahau to Kaiteriteri, but we elected not to since I wanted the freedom to stay later in the area. The road from Marahou to Kaiteriteri was very narrow and twisty. It was about a 20-minute drive. I am glad that we left early while traffic was minimal.

Kaiteriteri has a very nice golden sand beach. It is more of a main hub than Marahou for boat tours to the national park.

The first part of our tour was a 3-hour boat cruise up the coast of the national park. Every 15 minutes the boat stopped at a beach to let people on and off for their various tours. We just stayed on the boat and enjoyed the scenery. We had great seats on the top deck. We passed by Split Apple Rock and a fur seal colony. The captain had nice commentary throughout the tour about the various landmarks along the way. We cruised back down the coast and were dropped off at Apple Tree Bay.

The second part of our tour was the hike from Apple Tree Bay to Anchorage Bay. This was about a 7 km hike that was estimated to take 2 hours 15 minutes total. There were a few side trails that led to other beaches along the way. Along the trail Heinrich heard some unusual pecking noises, and we found a mama Weka and her 2 chicks foraging for food.

We took the side trail to Stillwell Bay. It is a small but very pretty golden sand beach.

Next the trail climbed uphill and inland. We stopped at the Yellow Point Lookout which had nice views of the ocean on both sides of the trail.

We stopped at a nice viewpoint near Observation Beach. Heinrich decided to wait while I tramped down the 750-meter trail to the beach. At about the halfway point the trail got very steep, and I bailed out. It was taking way too much time and we had a deadline to be picked up by the shuttle boat at Anchorage Bay at 3:45.

The trail had many good viewpoints near Anchorage Bay. After we reached the bay we still had an hour to spare before the shuttle boat arrived, so I decided to hike to Te Pukatea Bay. It was a 20-minute hike each way. I rushed the hike a bit to make sure I had enough time, but I am glad I went since it was the prettiest beach seen so far.

The shuttle boat arrived early, and once again we got good viewing seats on the top deck. It was a 30-minute ride back to Kaiteriteri.

After we disembarked we wandered around the town and decided to have dinner there before heading back to Marahau. We ordered a meat lovers pizza at the Beached Whale restaurant. It was very good and reasonably priced.

We drove back to Marahau and had a relaxing evening at our room. I stayed up late to upload many photos to Facebook. After midnight I was happy to see that the outside lights were turned off. I wandered outside to the bridge over the creek, looked down and could see several glowworms at the bank on both sides of the bridge! I called Heinrich out to take a look. The stars were nice, too!

It was a great day with spectacular weather, and the trail, although busy, was less crowded than I had expected. People were spread out nicely along the way.

February 02, 2019

We woke up to another beautiful day with partly cloudy skies. After checking out of the apartment we headed north toward Golden Bay. Our first stop was at a lookout that had nice views of Golden Bay in the distance. The surrounding hills were golden, so I thought the name was appropriate.

It was about a 1-hour drive to our first destination: Farewell Spit. This was a long narrow section of beach that extended for several miles, but most of it was closed to foot traffic to keep it as a wildlife preserve. The road out to the spit was gravel for a few miles and ended at the Puponga Farm Park. There were many sheep grazing on the farm. We hiked up to the top of a small hill that had a nice view of the spit. There was a restaurant at the farm but it was not open yet. We were the only people in the area. It was so nice and quiet.

We backtracked down the dirt road and took a right turn to the next area of interest: Wharariki Beach. There was a small car park with a trail (about a half mile) that led to the beach. There was one camper van already at the car park: it looked like they had stayed there overnight. There were a couple of other cars in the lot, and that was it. Another quiet place.

On the hike we encountered a cow standing right in the middle of the trail, so we had to take a little detour. Once again we saw many sheep grazing near both sides of the trail.

The trail climbed over a small hill and then descended to the beach. There were many large sand dunes that we hiked over before reaching the shore.

This was an area where I was concerned we would encounter sandflies. But there was enough wind to keep them at bay.

The beach extended for a few miles. Offshore there were sea arches. The most prominent formation had three openings. The arches were far enough offshore that we were unable to get close to them, and it was not low tide. For the next trip I will check in advance as to when we have low tide. There was another arch located close to the beach that would have been accessible during low tide. We had to settle for photos from a distance.

We walked to the northern end of the beach where there was a solitary fur seal sunning itself. We watched it waddle over to a comfortable spot in the sand, where it proceeded to roll around. This area of the beach was in a nice protected spot surrounded by the dunes and small bluffs.

When we returned to the car, we found a male peacock wandering around the car park. There were many more cars that had arrived.

Our next stop was Cape Farewell. This was the northernmost part of the South Island. There was a short trail that led to the top of a bluff where we had a great view of the Cape Farewell sea arch. There was a hiking trail that climbed to the top of some sea cliffs where there had been reports of fur seals, but we did not take it due to time constraints.

We started the drive back south and made a restroom stop at Tomatea Point. This was a beautiful section of beach on Golden Bay. From there we had great views across the bay of the city of Nelson and the mountains in the distance.

We made the 1-hour drive back to Takaka and then detoured to a car park for the trail to Wainui Falls. Heinrich decided not to hike: his feet were still bothering him from the Tongariro hike. I hiked on my own: it was about an hour round trip. The trail led into the northern portion of Abel Tasman National Park. The forest was lush and beautiful. Wainui Falls was a gorgeous waterfall that cascaded into a beautiful green pool. It was a fun, easy hike.

I got back to the car at about 2 PM. It was time to head to our next destination: Marahou. We knew it was going to take at least a couple of hours driving since we had to backtrack over the steep, twisty road with sections of road construction. The side road to Marahau was also steep and twisty, so it was slow going.

The town of Marahau was very small with not much there. It was a main drop off point for hikers into Abel Tasman National Park and for some of the sea shuttles. We drove out of town and up a residential road that led into the rain forest, where our lodging was located. We checked in at the Buena Vista Apartments, a small privately owned accommodation that had three rooms for rent in a separate building. We stayed in the Samba room. It was very quiet and we did not hear our neighbors.

The apartment had a small living room, bedroom, and a kitchenette with a hot plate, microwave and small refrigerator. I fried potatoes, bacon, and eggs for dinner.

After dinner we drove to the entrance of Abel Tasman National Park, which was only a few miles from where we were staying. We decided to hike the first portion of the Abel Tasman Coastal Track just to see what it was like. The trail crossed a wide section of Marahau Beach which was very pretty in the evening light. We encountered a lot of people hiking out, as this was the end of their day. It was not as crowded as the Tongariro hike, but still more people than I had seen so far all day. We had read about New Zealand trail etiquette: hike on the left side of the trail, the same as driving on the left. The very first person we encountered, a European carrying a baby, stopped dead in front of Heinrich and made him walk around. Apparently he was not well versed in the trail etiquette. Next we passed a group of folks that were blasting music through their iPods. So much for peace and quiet and the sounds of nature.

After those encounters I was getting concerned about what our hike would be like the next day. We only went a little way further, up to a viewpoint of the next beach, before turning around.

Back at the apartment we had a relaxing quiet evening. There were laundry facilities outside the apartment, so Heinrich took advantage. The owners had told us to be sure to go outside after dark since there were glowworms along the creek. There was a small bridge across the creek that we crossed to get from our car to the apartment. Unfortunately when I went outside just after dark, the bridge was lit up with tiny white Christmas lights that made it impossible to see the glowworms. I hoped to check with the owners next day to ask if they could turn the lights off.

February 01, 2019

Today's destination was Takaka, in the vicinity of Abel Tasman National Park (about 3 hours 40 minutes total drive time). We planned a scenic drive through the Queen Charlotte Sound area with short hikes and stops at many view points.

The Palmira Lodge provided delicious croissants and chocolate muffins for breakfast, which we ate on the patio outside of the kitchen.

We checked out of the room and drove to Karaka Point. There was a 10-minute walk to a gorgeous view of Queen Charlotte Sound. I was so impressed with how green the hills were. We had another beautiful weather day with partly sunny skies.

Next we took the Queen Charlotte Drive and made stops at Governor’s Bay Track and Cullen Point Track. Governor’s Bay was a short steep walk down to a very small secluded beach: more beautiful views from there. Cullen Point was a hike to an overlook which needs some maintenance to remove some overgrown trees.

The road to Havelock was twisty the entire way, but it was not narrow so the drive was okay. It was worth it due to all of the beautiful views. I could definitely come back to the Queen Charlotte Sound area and enjoy spending more time there.

Next stop was the Pelorus Bridge Reserve. Underneath the bridge across the river was where a movie scene was filmed for The Hobbit: dwarves escaping in barrels down the river. We took a few short hikes to visit the river and a giant Totara tree.

Afterwards we drove to the city of Nelson and visited the New World supermarket to stock up on groceries and dinner fixings for the next three days. This may be the last large town we see for a while, so it made sense to reload the chilly bin.

Next stop was Hawkes Lookout which had great views over the mountains, forest, and ocean in the distance. Heinrich drove this section of road which turned twisty and had some delays due to road construction. We arrived at the Golden Bay Motel in Takaka shortly after 4 PM.

We had an apartment with a full kitchen for the night. It was a quiet spot with a grassy area and playground out back. We had chicken with honey mustard sauce, rice and salad for dinner.

In the evening we filled up with gas and drove to an area named The Grove. This was a 30-minute walk through a series of limestone outcroppings. We found small caves and arches, too! It was a fun area to explore.

January 31, 2019

 Today we said goodbye to the North Island. We slept a little later than normal since we had to wait for the car to be delivered before checking out. The car came at 9:15. It is a Honda Accent with only 30,000 km on the odometer, and a free upgrade. It has a nice, quiet drive. It does seem a bit smaller in the storage area, but the back seats fold down which helped everything fit.

We drove to Wellington to the Bluebridge Ferry Terminal. We left late enough to avoid the morning rush hour and it was an easy drive (30 minutes). After we arrived we had a couple of hours to kill before the car ferry departure to the South Island, so we walked along the Wellington waterfront to take in the views. It was a picture perfect beautiful day with blue skies. We stopped at a New World supermarket and bought sandwiches from the deli for lunch. I had a bagel with smoked salmon and cream cheese. It was delicious. We split an apple guava fruit drink that reminded me of POG (passion orange guava juice, a favorite drink in Hawaii).

It was nice getting a little taste of the city. We intentionally avoided spending time in the major cities of Auckland and Christchurch for this trip since we prefer to visit the parks and natural areas. But the downtown area of Wellington near the waterfront was very pleasant and a good place to hang out for lunch.

When it was time, Heinrich drove the car onto the ferry and we found seats outside on the upper deck. The views of Wellington as we left the harbour were wonderful.

After we reached the open ocean, fog rolled in and it got uncomfortably windy, so we went inside. But after about an hour it cleared again as we approached the South Island. We went back to our old seats on the upper deck and had a great view of the Queen Charlotte Sound. This portion of the South Island reminds me of the Virgin Islands, especially St. John. It was very uncrowded with beautiful forested green hills surrounded by the ocean. The three and a half hour ferry ride was definitely worth taking.

After we disembarked at Picton Harbour, we drove to our room at the Palmira Lodge. It was only a 10-minute drive. Our room had a private bathroom and a refrigerator. There was a shared kitchen and an outdoor grill. We decided to make use of the grill and went to the supermarket to buy some beef fillet steaks. So we had a very nice steak dinner on the patio of the lodge, for half the cost of eating out at a restaurant. We had baked potatoes and a salad as well.

January 30, 2019

Since we had reserved two nights in Upper Hutt, our itinerary was to make a day trip south to Cape Palliser (1 hour 20 minutes estimated drive time each way). We had another nice weather day: partly cloudy. We started the day a little later than usual since we wanted to avoid the morning rush hour for our drive. After getting gas for the car, we drove up to the Remutaka Summit. This road was billed as the third worst road in New Zealand for motorcycle fatalities. It was steep and twisty to the summit, but it was a good wide road and I thought much easier to drive than some of the roads in Coromandel. We stopped at the summit and took a short walk to take pictures of the view.

Afterwards the road descended to the town of Featherston. We found a supermarket and bought some bread, and we also got more cash at an ATM.

We drove south to the coast to visit the Putangirua Pinnacles. We took a 1.5 hour hike up a stream bed to the pinnacles. This was a Lord of the Rings film location (the Dimholt Road). The pinnacles are badlands type formations where the stream has eroded layers of rocks. I thought they were quite interesting and different from anything seen in the states.

We drove on to Cape Palliser. The road followed the coast, and the ocean scenery was quite nice. There were several black sand beaches, mostly deserted. There was a lighthouse at the cape with 253 steps to climb to its base at the top of the hill. I made the climb and had a panoramic view of the coastline at the top. It was very windy up there, so I did not stay long.

About 1 km from the lighthouse was a turnout to a rocky point that contained a fur seal colony. This was our first encounter with seals in New Zealand! There were hundreds of them frolicking in the ocean, diving for food, and sunning themselves on the rocks. There were many seal pups playing. They were so cute!

We returned to the car to start the drive back to Upper Hutt. That’s when the fun began. As soon as I started the car, the Check Engine light came on. We popped the hood, checked the oil and fluid levels, and everything looked okay. There was no temperature gauge in the car, and we thought maybe it got too hot, so we turned off the air conditioning. We had no cell phone reception so we could not call anyone. I started driving slowly and everything seemed okay. After we passed a small town the speed limit increased to 100 km, and that is when we found the problem. The car refused to shift and I had virtually no acceleration.

We decided the only thing we could do was try to drive it slowly to where we could get cell phone reception. At that point Heinrich took over driving since I was having a mini freak out. We had to drive uphill to get away from the coast, and there were portions of the road that were narrow, steep and twisty. Heinrich put the car into first gear (that part of the transmission was still working) and managed to creep uphill at about 10 kmh. He put on the emergency flashers. Amazingly no other car came up behind us. We had to drive about 35 km before we reached a road intersection and had good cell phone reception.

Heinrich pulled the car safely off the road and I called AA road service. It took about an hour for the tow truck to arrive. The driver made a diagnosis that there was nothing he could do to fix it. He said he would tow it back to our hotel in Upper Hutt. I called the rental car company office in Wellington and made arrangements for them to deliver a replacement vehicle the following day at 9 AM.

It took about 2 hours to get back to the hotel. At least I did not have to drive the Remutaka Summit road a second time but got to experience the views from the inside of a New Zealand tow truck! At the hotel I contacted the front desk and let them know the situation since we may not make the 10 AM checkout time. They were very understanding. My main concern was to get the replacement vehicle in time for us to get to the ferry the next day for our required check in time of 12:30.

So we were stranded for that evening without a car. Fortunately we had previously bought food for dinner and we had made no other plans for that evening other than to relax. We fixed spaghetti and salad for dinner.

January 29, 2019

We woke up to heavy fog and drizzle. The plan was to drive south along the coast and visit a few beaches, some of which we read needed to be visited at low tide. Since low tide was not until 11:30, we took our time checking out of the cabin. Our final destination for the day was Upper Hutt, just north of Wellington (estimated 4 hours 10 minutes drive time).

We drove to the town of Hawera to fill up on gas, and the fog started to clear. We continued to drive south to Patea Beach and encountered fog once again. There were supposed to be some nice coastal views at the black sand beach there, but it was dreary and foggy so we did not stay long.

Our next stop was Waverley Beach where there were interesting cliffs and some sea caves. There used to be a sea arch there, but it collapsed in 2011. The sea caves were only accessible at low tide, and we were there at the right time. Despite the fog it was interesting, and we explored around the cliffs for a little while. We climbed the bluff to get some nice views of the coast.

We drove further south and the fog finally cleared. We decided to stop at another beach since we were running ahead of schedule. Ototoka Beach had a small waterfall cascading down to the beach. It was a nice wide black sand beach for walking, and there were very few other people there. I found a nice sea shell to collect.

We made another stop at Foxton Beach where there were sand dunes and dune buggies and cars driving along the beach. It was quite crowded and it was very hot, so we did not stay there long.

We drove inland to the city of Upper Hutt and checked into the Wallaceville Motor Lodge. This was one of the more expensive places that we stayed since I had been unable to find much available in Upper Hutt. The grounds of the hotel were quite pretty: many weddings have been held there. The room had a refrigerator and microwave but no stove top.

We drove to the Pak N Save supermarket to buy food for the next few nights. That is when we discovered that the roads in Upper Hutt were poorly designed. We had a nasty time navigating all of the roundabouts to get to and from the supermarket. Frankly I have no desire to stay in Upper Hutt again. There was nothing interesting about it: just a crowded suburb of Wellington.

We relaxed that evening and had hamburgers and salad for dinner.

January 28, 2019

We woke up to a cloudy day. The final destination for the day was the town of Stratford, near Egmont National Park (estimated 2 hours 45 minutes drive time from Waitomo). But first on the agenda was the Ruakuri Bush Walk. This 45-minute hike was located near the Arenui Cave car park. It was a fun walk through a river gorge to a view point into a natural bridge. Inside we were able to see a few glowworms on the ceiling of the bridge. The walk meandered through the gorge and went through a couple of small arches.

We drove to Te Kuiti to get gas and then continued south on to the west coast. The road was twisty in several spots, but not as bad as the roads in Coromandel. The scenery was lush rainforest... and it was raining. As we approached the coast, the rain stopped but it was foggy. No great coastal views there.

In the town of Tongaporutu, we visited the Three Sisters. This was a walk along a black sand beach. The Sisters were rock formations only accessible 2 hours before and after low tide. This morning we timed it well and arrived shortly after low tide at 10:30. Despite the fog, it was an interesting walk to the Sisters and some sea arches beyond. There was even a small waterfall.

Next we drove to Urenui Beach, where the fog finally lifted. It turned into a sunny afternoon! We found a nice picnic spot to have lunch. This was another black sand beach with limestone cliffs along the shore. I read a sign that said blue penguins were nesting near the river, but it was the wrong time of day to try to see them.

We turned inland toward Egmont National Park. The scenery was rolling farmland. Many tractors and farm trucks were on the road. We had to pull over to the side of the road to make way for a house that was being moved! It had been split into two sections to allow it to be driven on the road.

House Moving

I had marked a spot on the map where there was supposed to be a great view of Mt. Taranaki, but the top half of the mountain was completely cloud covered.

We arrived in Stratford at 2:15 PM, in time to check into our cabin at the Stratford Kiwi Holiday Park. It was a comfortable, quiet place on the outskirts of town, with a private bath and kitchenette.

After unloading the car, we took a 25-minute drive to the Dawson Falls visitor center in Egmont National Park. As we approached the park, the clouds cleared and I was able to see all of Mt. Taranaki. The rolling farmland abruptly ended, and we were surrounded by thick forest. The road into the park was very narrow and twisty in spots. Fortunately there were not too many cars to pass coming in the other direction.

I was surprised to see that the visitor center was closed. It is only open Thursday through Sunday. There were display panels outside that showed maps and descriptions of the various trails. We took the hike to Dawson Falls and walked down very steep stairs to the base of the waterfall. We also hiked a short trail to a view point at the top of the falls. It is a nice waterfall and worth the short hike.

Then we walked back up the road to the visitor center and climbed stairs to a viewpoint of Mt. Taranaki. The clouds were starting to roll in, but I managed to get a few shots of the summit. Next I took the hike to Wilkies Pools while Heinrich decided to stay at the picnic table and rest his feet. It was an easy hike through a forest of moss-draped trees (the “goblin forest”). There were a couple of small waterfalls above the pools. Unfortunately Mt. Taranaki was clouded over again so there were no good views of the volcano from there. There was a nice view of the surrounding farmland below.

On the drive back to Stratford, the clouds parted and we had a final nice view of Mt. Taranaki. We went to New World to get groceries and then drove back to our cabin and cooked dinner. We had a sweet and sour pork stir fry. In the evening I heard the bellbirds singing.

January 27, 2019

After having our breakfast at the B and B and playing with the cat, we drove into town to get gas and ice. Then we drove back to the Tokaanu Hot Springs to see what the geyser was doing. This time we lucked out and saw two eruptions with a closed interval of 28 minutes.

Then it was time to say goodbye to the thermal features. We headed north toward Waitomo (estimated 2 hours 10 minutes drive time). The weather had been sunny at the geyser, but as we headed north it deteriorated to clouds and drizzling rain. Heinrich drove to our first destination, Omaru Falls. This was a half hour walk through a small forest and then on the edge of some farmland. It was cloudy but not raining for the walk. Nobody else was there, and it was a pleasant hike. The trail led to a good view of the waterfall.

I drove to Waitomo. It was too early to check in, so we drove on for another half hour to see the Mangapohue Natural Bridge. This was a 10-minute walk through a nice river gorge. It was drizzling rain while we were there, but it did not spoil the view. Further down the road was the 10-minute hike to another very impressive waterfall: Marokopa Falls.

I drove back to Waitomo and we checked into our room at the Kiwi Paka Backbackers. We had a chalet room with a private bathroom and refrigerator.

Our tour of the Waitomo Caves started at 4 PM. First we visited Arenui Cave. This was a dry cave (no glowworms) but the formations were spectacular! We had about a half hour inside the cave; I wish it had been longer.

Next we visited Waitomo Glowworm Cave. We took a boat ride to where the majority of the glowworms were located. There were hundreds of tiny blue lights glowing on the ceiling of the cave. It reminded me of being inside a planetarium where you look up to see the stars. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take any photos inside this cave, so the only photo I have is of the exit.

The last cave was Ruakuri. This was a 90-minute tour through a cave that included both formations and glowworms. Personally I thought the tour was a little too long, the formations were better in Arenui, and the glowworms were better in Waitomo Glowworm Cave. But if you had time for only one cave, Ruakuri would be a good one since it had both formations and glowworms, and photos were allowed.

After the cave tours we went to the Huhu Cafe for dinner. By this time the weather had turned to partly cloudy, so it was a nice evening. I had the smoked salmon and Heinrich had the lamb curry. The prices were pretty good, considering we were in a resort area.

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Other videos:

• Taumatapuhipuhi Geyser, Tokaanu, 2019 January 27. H.Koenig

January 26, 2019

We got up at 4 AM to drive to the Backyard Tours shuttle car park. It was an easy 15-minute drive from the B and B. At 5:15 we boarded the shuttle to take us to the Mangatepopo car park where the Tongariro Alpine Crossing hike began. The weather was a little foggy and a bit cold at the trail head, but I was prepared with warm clothing, hat and gloves.

Backyard Tours did a nice operation and I would recommend them. The shuttle driver gave a Maori prayer and then sent us on our way. He offered me the use of some hiking poles. I am glad I had them. This was one badass hike: 19.4 km and about a 2,500 foot elevation gain.

The fog burned off quickly and we had amazing views along the trail: really cooperative weather. The climb to the first summit was not too bad, although we took our time and let all the younger folks run on ahead of us. The first 7 km of the trail was well graded. Once we reached the saddle we were in a wind tunnel. Then the fun began. The hike to the second summit was steep with loose gravel most of the way. With the wind trying to topple me over, I was grateful for the hiking poles.

The views at the summit were fantastic with the Red Crater and the Emerald Lakes below. The descent from the summit was worse than the climb: really steep and loose gravel everywhere. It was difficult to keep from sliding, even with the hiking poles. At that point I gave one of my poles to Heinrich to use.

At the bottom of the slope we took a side trail to get a closer look at the lakes and some fumaroles. All we were able to see was steam from the thermal activity.

The remainder of the trail descended into a valley with great views of Lake Taupo and Mount Terawera in the distance. We continued our slow but steady pace and let the majority of other hikers pass us. Yes, the trail was crowded. For the first hour we had little company, but after we took a side detour to see the Soda Springs, the other hikers caught up to us and it was a steady stream of people. Do not go on this hike if you want isolation!

We finished the hike in time to catch the 4 PM shuttle back to our car. We got a free drink, and I tried the L & P. It tastes a little like Sprite. By that time we were too tired to even think about doing anything else for the day. We drove straight back to the B and B and relaxed for the evening. Dinner was sandwiches and snacks.

The resident cat decided to pay us a visit and spent a few hours sleeping next to the door.

I was glad I did the hike! The views were worth it, and it was a great way to see the park. But I am now dealing with very sore feet.