Picton to Blenheim, Kaikoura then to Hamner Springs

After a three hour ferry ride from Wellington, watching Rugby with local fans, we spent the night in Picton. The next day, we drove across the top of the South Island to Havelock taking in the overcast but pretty views of the strait between the North and South Islands.

From Havelstock, we took the road south to sunny Blenheim, the heart of New Zealand's Marlborough wine region. We drove down their "Golden Mile" where the vineyards We lucked onto the Hans Herzog vineyard where delightful Samantha Young helped us sample their superb wines on behalf of the proprietors, Hans and Therese Herzog. Rand is still more partial to Moa beer, but he did find their Montepulciano-grape Grappa delicious.

Before leaving the Blenheim region, we followed the sun northward up the coast. The "sealed" (paved) road turned into a dirt road that wound high up the coast and we came to a beautiful section of coast called Robinhood Bay.
Heading south from Blenheim, we toured the wine region, then drove the rainy but stunning coastline to Kaikora. We decided not to stop there because of the heavy rain and continued on over a snowy pass to Hamner Springs to spend the night. The snow was coming down heavily as we headed up to higher elevation, blanketing the trees in white.
The geothermal playground in Hamner Springs, with its hot pools, sulphur pools and aqua-therapy hot pools, was another highlight of the day. The aqua-therapy pools especially, which had very strong jets that you could position on any part of your body you could move into position, did wonders for our sore muscles and aches and pains.

New Zealand Sheep and baby lambs

Newborn Lambs, New Zealand

Whanganui, Lake Taupo, Huka Falls, Mt Ruapehu Ski Volcanos Tongarino National Park

We started the day at Bush Lake just south of Rotorua and ended up in Whanganui along the southwest coast. Along the way, we stopped at Lake Taupo, which is a huge lake along the "geothermal highway" through the mountainous central region of the North Island. .
After driving along the southern side of Lake Taupo, we entered Tongarino National Park and drove into the park and up to the highest elevations to the ski resort on Mt Ruapehu. They just got 3 meters (9 feet) of new snow in the last 5 days, so the mountain offers the best of spring skiing.

The mountain is very obviously a volcano as you drive up to it. I wondered aloud to Rand about what we would do if the volcano blew its top, thinking this was just a playful, unrealistic fantasy. But at the ski lodge we learned that the volcano had erupted last in 1995, so my comment wasn't so far-fetched after all.

Another treat we enjoyed in the Lake Taupo area was Huka Falls, which generates a lot of the electric power for New Zealand from its powerful water flow. Amazingly, the water at Huka Falls was turquoise and crystal clear.
Here are the roaring, rushing Huka Falls.

Waitomo to Rotorua

Day 4 Waitomo to Rotorua

Waitomo:

This has been our most relaxed day so far, one reason being that we drove the shortest distance, and the other, that we ended our day with three hours at one of New Zealand’s famous thermal spas, Hells Gate.

The day began with a 3 hour tour of Spellbound glow-worms cave and the Cave of Spirits cave. Glowworms are the nymph stage of a short-lived insect. They thrive in the perfect environment of New Zealand’s caves because of the constant darkness, temperature and humidity and the fact that a river runs through the cave, and that the river is clean and pure and full of larvae that hatch into flying insects.

The glowworm nymphs hang on the stone ceilings of the cave, and under rocky outcroppings. Their bright blue-green glow emanates from a rear compartment of their body where they produce an enzyme and protein, which when combined with oxygen, produces a glow that attracts flying insects. The glow-worms drop mucousy threads from their bodies that capture the insects who fly up toward the light. The worms then reel in their prey and eat them.

The glow-worm nymphs mature from into pupa at a rate dependent on how much they eat. (Interesting to compare that to the way humans who reduce calories are supposed to live longer too). Eventually, the glow-worms all enter their pupa stage, then hatch into flying insects themselves. They live in that stage for only a few days, just long enough for the male to impregnate the female, after which the male dies, and the female lays her eggs on the roof of the cave and then dies. And when the eggs hatch, the cycle begins again.

Floating down the river with all our lights off and the glow-worms above us could have been a Disneyland ride because it was so magical, although this time we were experiencing the real thing.

Because the cave is many layers, the river we were on plunged into lower layers so we heard the loud roar of the waterfalls – and stayed a safe distance away. Our guide, Louisa, was excellent and answered our many questions, giving us a whole education in the geology, anthropology, flora and fauna of New Zealand.

Rotorua:

After leaving Waitomo, we had a relatively short drive across the country from West to East to Rotorua, the geothermal hot-spot of New Zealand. As soon as we drew near the large Lake Rotorua, especially the shallow, ultra-hot section at the south end, the smell of sulphur was so strong that my nostrils burned.

We drove to the other side of the lake to Tikitere to “Hell’s Gate.” There we treated ourselves to a private hot mud-bath together, followed by a very brisk ice-cold shower (supposedly best for closing the pores and revitalization), then a soak in a hot sulphur pool. Rand braved going closer to the source of the hot spring and emerged with a clear line on his body, below being bright red like a cooked lobster, and above his normal skin-tone. After our sulphur bath, we had one of the better massages we’ve ever had. The masseuses seemed to bring that South Pacific extra-sensory connection to their touch. It was divine. Adrienne was my masseuse and she’s worth the trip.

90 Mile Beach through Auckland to Ragland, and to Waitomo

Day 3 90 Mile Beach through Auckland to Ragland, and to Waitomo

We had wanted to check out Raglan because our friends Sue and Bryce have a home there and we heard it has one of, if not the best surf breaks in New Zealand, and is a town a lot like Del Mar back in California. Raglan did not disappoint.

The drive from the bottom of 90 Mile Beach to Raglan took us about 5 hours or more with our stops. Although we reached Raglan just after Sunset, the almost-full moon favored us and allowed us to see the beautiful, rocky coastline, the black sand beaches, and the quaint town.

We had the best dinner we’ve had all trip in Raglan at the Namaste Kitchen, which is owned by a Nepalese family. They know how to cook delicious curries and Naan (bread). The vegetable dishes were colorful, flavorful, and absolutely worth a trip back to Raglan just for another meal there.

We didn’t have our bearings in Raglan, but ventured south along the shoreline and discovered a community called Whale Bay where the houses were on the cliffs, directly overlooking the surf. We found a stairway that took us down almost to the rocks. Just standing there overlooking the roiling surf, looking Westward toward Australia perhaps, or beyond, was breathtaking. I wouldn’t mind to spend our winters there where it would be endless summer.

Even without much sight we would have loved the sound of the rolling surf, which may have been accentuated by a western storm.

Waitomo to Rotoruro

Day 1 Auckland North to Russell

After landing early into Auckland to wind and rain, and after picking up our campervan home for the next two weeks, we provisioned ourselves and set off for the Northland. The good thing about rain is that it leads to rainbows.

The Northland is lots of rolling hills with sheep and cows.

As we drove closer and closer to Bay of Islands and caught glimpses of this scenic “God’s Country” spot, I kept exclaiming about each beautiful vista. I’m not sure if I’d ever tire of the views there, even if I lived there.

The coastline was unique, but in some ways had the quaint, charming small town feel of Maine, the plants that I recognize from Southern California, the blue water of the Caribbean, and the dramatic, jagged mountains plunging into the sea of the South Pacific.

There’s something about looking out into the ocean with many beautiful islands in the distance that is more beautiful than looking at an endless stretch of open ocean. However, Russell has no whitewater, and no surf, so there’s no sound of crashing waves, which I love too, nor waves to play in.

Russell is also quite remote and hard to get to. We actually missed the last turnoff because we couldn’t believe the dirt road was the way we were supposed to go. But sure enough, if you’re getting to Russell by land, this was the road. (it turned out a car ferry was the better approach). We drove the last 10 miles or so through a forest on a dirt road and I felt as if I was in Sherwood Forest in Nottingham, England.

Russell, after all, was one of the first British settlements on New Zealand, and still has a British feel to the architecture and community.

Russell, Cape Reinga, 90 Mile Beach

We awoke in Russell, the oldest British settlement on New Zealand, dating back to the 1700's, before sunrise and went down to the beach to watch the sun come up.

Rand set up chairs near the water's edge. It was glorious.

Today was a destination day, and the destination was the northern tip of New Zealand where there is a picturesque lighthouse. We also wanted to check out the famous “90 Mile Beach” that runs the length of the western top of North Island. On the drive North, we went along the Whangarei Town Basin with its yachts, cafes, galleries, the Tutukaka Coast with its beautiful islands and aquamarine water

We saw Matapouri Bay, Whale Bay and Matauri Bay and stopped for lunch at the old Stone House.
We made a detour to KawaKawa and noticed that the landscape flattened out considerably as we made our way from South to North. There also were fewer forests or large trees.

Kerikeri turned out to be an unexpectedly nice town with lots of holistic health practitioners and many artists and craftspeople – my kind of community! We found an arts co-op that had crafts made by six local artists. I bought a number of presents and was most happy to find my mom a new pair of New Zealand lambswool slippers I think she will really like. I also bought a pair for Magnus that are adorable and that should get him through the coldest winter days in DC with his tootsies feeling very comfortable.

Some of the most beautiful scenery we’ve seen was north of Russell along the coast near Doubtless Bay and Cooper Beach. How would you like to have this view from your house?

The wind at Cape Reinga was blowing fiercely and when I walked the long path to the lighthouse, at times when the path was exposed to the western wind, I wondered if I’d be blown off the path.

Then, when the hills to my left blocked the wind, it immediately became eerily still and quiet. Quite a walk!

After reaching the tip of New Zealand, we cruised the left (west) side of the North Island, down 90 Mile Beach to Waipapakauri Beach. 90 Mile Beach looked like the Sahara Desert with enormous, vast expanse of sand dunes.

Here we are celebrating at twilight on the beach.

Arrive New Zealand, Auckland to Russell

Yesterday, our first day in New Zealand, we connected with our delightful campervan rental owners, Karen and Roger Ballantine, who got us all set up in our home for the next few weeks, equipped with wireless to be able to stay in touch with family, friends, colleagues and all of you. I've never done this kind of trip by campervan and it's really a fun way to travel.

Our first night was in Russell, north of Auckland on the east coast overlooking the Bay of Islands.
Driving the road to Russell is not the best way to get there (we didn't yet know about the ferry). Here is the drive we had on the last few miles along a dirt road, through a forest.

We awoke before sunrise and went down to the beach to watch the sun come up.
Rand set up chairs near the water's edge. It was glorious.

We're off to New Zealand tonight and will keep you updated on our latest adventure!
We will be traveling around both the north and south islands by campervan, which should ensure that we can get to all the far-flung parts of New Zealand that we want to explore and meet the locals instead of just the foreign visitors.
Our campervan is specially-equipped with wireless so that we can stay in touch with family, friends and our business projects, and also be able to travel.
Love to all. Ellen and Rand