Wellington

We were really excited to see our friends Joe and Mel when we finally reached Wellington after our three day road trip. We met the couple who were originally from Quebec when they were living in Vancouver, where we shared many fun adventures including beach days, phenomenal ski trips and dress up parties. After almost two years of not seeing each other, it was a very happy reunion, especially since we were meeting their adorable four month old baby, Maika, for the first time.

We slept on their very comfortable sofa bed in the living room, and for the six days we were with them it was like being back in university with roomies again. Lots of time was spent hanging out and having great chats over delicious meals cooked in their cute little house in the suburb of Lower Hutt, just outside of Wellington.

We spent a day exploring downtown Wellington where we had lunch, did a bit of window shopping and visited a favourite cafe in one of the harbours with a beautiful view and kitchie décor.

Frequenting some of the many coffee shops that serve up amazing brew was one of our favourite activities and Maika was a welcome companion on our outings, being an incredibly well behaved and happy little baby.

We spent an afternoon at one of the best museums in New Zealand, the Te Papa Museum, where the displays on the culture and the geography of the country were impressive. 

When Joe returned to work after the weekend and Mel was busy with her parenting duties, we took advantage of our three days to explore some of the many treks available a short drive from Wellington. The hikes led us up along the ridges of the surrounding mountains…

…along peaceful seaside residential streets, where we enjoyed, you guessed it, some coffee…

…up into native bush further out of the city, with a small trail surrounded by fragrant flowers, beautiful trees and sub-tropical plants…

…headlong into the strong wind on the exposed mountains with a beautiful view of downtown Wellington…

…and through the city streets, along an urban nature walk where it seemed the uphill slog would never end.

All of the hikes had beautiful views, and it was a relief to take a break and enjoy the scenery, especially by the third day of hiking when our muscles were becoming incredibly sore. As a result, Patricia was barely able to climb up on a swing for a great photo opportunity. Despite the bitter struggle, no Brazilians were hurt in the taking of this picture.

We had initially planned on doing a multi-day hike around Wellington, but instead opted to return each night to Joe and Mel’s place to enjoy our time with them. It was nice to start getting back into a more “normal” rhythm, and Ben felt like quite the man, taking care of mundane domestic chores such as laundry and picking fresh lemons…

…keeping an eye on Maika (so cute!)…

…and soldering.  No, you did no read wrong, actually soldering. Inspired by the resourcefulness of the people we had met in third world countries, when our finicky adapter finally lost one of its prongs, Ben soldered it back on under Joe’s watchful supervision. The adapter did work again, to their great delight, and saved us some money which we promptly spent on… you guessed it… coffee!  

It was with great sadness that we finally said goodbye to our good friends, and papa Joe dropped us off at the airport to catch our flight back to Auckland.  Fortunately the Baker-Proulx family is an adventurous one, and we’re sure to see them again.  In the Wellington Airport we were temporarily distracted from reminiscing over the fun times in New Zealand by the enormous model of Golum from Lord of the Rings dangling over the airport lounge. We had almost forgotten that Wellington is where many of the studios of this popular trilogy are based.

By the time we reached Auckland we were starting to get very excited for the next leg of our trip – Fiji!  We would be meeting up with friends on their sail boat to put a final stamp on our round the world adventure.

No doubt a storybook ending lay ahead…

Tongariro Crossing

After traversing the Forgotten World Highway we hit the midway point of our road trip to Wellington, stopping for the night in the tiny town of National Park. This hamlet serves as an access point to the many amazing hikes and ski destinations in the area. We planned on doing the Tongariro Crossing, a reasonably difficult 20km trek through active volcanic zones and snow fields, a journey that New Zealanders understate as a “day walk”. A tough breed these Kiwis! The walk’s claim to fame is that one of the volcanoes was used as the set for Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings movies.

We had arranged a drop off and pick up through our lodge and were very fortunate with the weather conditions as frequent high winds on the ridges end up cancelling many trips. Also, due to a recent eruption in August 2012 that damaged part of the trail, it was only a week previous that the entire walk was open again for trekkers. As we set out, the thin clouds began to burn off, revealing a beautiful blue sky and the unique alpine vegetation.

It was a colourful sight with the grasses displaying a wide array of hues and our ever increasing elevation providing a nice vantage point to the valleys below.

After a stiff climb up through this zone we reached a vast snowy plateau where our meager “winter” clothing was put to the test. Thinking we had left all cold weather behind, we had sent our warm gear home with Patricia’s parents when we met in Thailand, a move we had regretted on and off and one that now really hit home. We improvised by wearing every warm layer we could find, including using socks on our hands in place of gloves. Our excitement in seeing “Mount Doom” looming overhead helped in keeping us warm.

We climbed out of the snow bowl along rocky exposed ridges where the wind really started to howl. We held our hoods in front of our faces and turned away from the forceful gusts that were sending small rocks flying. We leaned our way up the slope and finally escaped as we began our descent past a red crater and blue lagoon below.

We found some comfy boulders and had a nice lunch on the ridge enjoying the amazing view before descending to take a closer look at the emerald green water.

We left the lagoon behind, pushing on through the firm snowpack until we reached a sign that made us pause. Maybe people can run faster than lava if properly motivated? There was only one way to find out, so we continued on. Reaching a steep snow section there was no other option but to take a seat and go for a slide. The spectacular scenery continued with views of Lake Taupo off in the distance.

We then saw definitively the reason for the sign, as plumes of gas rose from a still smoking crater. The nearby overnight lodge had actually been hit during the recent eruption and when passing by we looked inside to see where the flying debris had melted through bunk beds and deposited softball sized rocks inside. We didn’t stop for long!

At this point we had been hiking for about 16kms over rough terrain and our muscles were letting us know that it had been a while since we had done this kind of distance. Apparently surfing is not the best preparation for hiking. It was therefore a welcome relief to descend into lush forest below the windy ridges and to discover a cozy bench located deliciously in the afternoon sunshine. As our pace put us well ahead of our arranged pickup time, we took advantage to laze around and bask in the heat.

Descending further onto the forest floor, we came across a muddy debris field known as a lahar, where volcanic eruptions set in motion a huge amount of earth that crushed vegetation in its path and created new waterways.

New Zealand continues to be shaped by the same kind of volcanic activity that we witnessed during this spectacular hike and it was incredible to get a glimpse of this earthly power up close. New Zealand is definitely a natural paradise!

North Island Road Trip

We managed to definitively prove the maxim “ the world is a small place” on our flight from Sydney to Auckland. Smack in the middle of the busy Sydney international airport almost half way around the world from South America, we ran into our friends from Buenos Aires, Lucas and Luis. We had first met them on our Machu Pichu hike, and when we visited Buenos Aires a few months later, Lucas was kind enough to act as our tour guide for a fun day of sightseeing. So you can only imagine the odds of not only running into each other in the airport, but also being on the same flight! They were on their way back home having finished their vacation in Australia. We did our best to catch up while smiling in amazement at the chance encounter…

So it was that our trip to New Zealand was off to a great start, which was a good omen given the shenanigans that occurred prior to us arriving. It all started with an innocent email that Patricia had sent to our friends Mel and Joe, who live in New Zealand and were the main reason that we worked in a short visit to this island country. The email contained details of our flight into Auckland so that Mel could pick us up at the airport. It was therefore a big surprise when Mel emailed back, asking how it was that we were planning on getting to Wellington, since that was where she and Joe lived…not Auckland, as we had apparently assumed! Oops!!!  Looks like after arriving back in the western world, we had let our guard down. Interesting since Wellington is a good ten hour drive from Auckland. 

After the initial shock followed by many embarrassed chuckles, we decided to make the best of it and rent a car from Auckland to Wellington, taking a few days to explore the sights in between. We booked a night into the Skyway Lodge Airport Hotel, which was a fantastic place to spend a night and leave our surfboards in storage before heading south.

It was certainly a very spontaneous road trip - we made our plans over about five minutes while sitting in the Ace Rentals parking lot using the available brochures! We had heard about a one day hike, the Tongariro Crossing that passed by the base of “Mt Doom”, the volcano used for the epic Lord of The Rings movies. It was supposed to be the “best day walk” on the North Island, and we looked forward to getting into the fresh mountain air.

The countryside in New Zealand is the most verdant, jewel green you can possibly imagine. Dotted with white fluffy sheep, criss-crossed with dark green perfectly trimmed hedges, we never got bored of gazing out of the windows, sometimes laughing in amazement at the beauty around us.

The weather was crisp and cold at night, so it was a surprise when we took a break from the drive for a short one hour walk in the forest, to see tropical ferns, palm trees and climbing vines surrounding a gushing clear creek over water-smoothed rocks.

One of the perks of traveling in New Zealand is the coffee culture – even a small town will have a really cute, kitschy coffee shop with delicious baked goods and even better espresso-based coffee. We took full advantage in the tiny town of Piopio with a stop at the Fat Pigeon Café.

 We pushed further south to Mt Taranaki, also known as Mt Egmont, which looks like a miniature version of Mt Fuji - a snow-topped (hopefully) inactive volcano that rises majestically out of the rolling country side. We spent the night at a beautiful spot called the EcoInn, just outside of Egmont village. The owners have worked hard to get their home off the grid, relying on solar, wind and hydro power, and also did a fantastic job creating a cosy hostel that has the feel of a log cabin. With the cold weather, it was a treat to have a wood burning stove and cozy quilts to lie under while gazing at the stars through the skylight in our bedroom.

The next day we traipsed around the property exploring all the cool features, which included an outdoor tub!

Thanks to a tip from the lovely owner, Linda, we went for a hike along a trail that led up to the base of the volcano through pastures and grazing cattle, followed by thick sub-tropical forest. At the end of the path we were rewarded with a picturesque waterfall, its misty spray watering many green-hued ferns before tumbling down into clear pools. As you can tell from the flowery writing, New Zealand has a beautiful landscape which is difficult to capture on film, and therefore has to be imagined or ideally seen first hand to be truly appreciated.

We then headed to a nearby lake where a lookout provided the perfect opportunity for a photo with Mt Taranaki in the background. We may have fallen in love with this striking landscape as it reminded us a little of home in Vancouver, with the snowy peaks surrounding the city in winter time.

We continued south, choosing to take the slower but more scenic drive on the Forgotten World Highway. The road was very winding (Patricia was thankful for Ben’s superb driving skills), and the views of the farming countryside made it very worthwhile.  One of the stops was in the small town, or “Republic” of Whangamomona.  With a quirky history that saw the town declare itself a Republic, holding annual elections for a president which in the past has included a goat and a pet dog, it also boasted an old-fashioned hotel and bar.

We sat on the patio and enjoyed meat pies and drinks, enjoying the feeling of freedom and relaxation that one gets on a fun road trip through beautiful sights on a sunny day.

That night we made it into the town of National Park, where we were staying the night at the Plateau Lodge before attempting the Tongariro Crossing the next day. The lodge had a hot tub that we booked out for a blissful half hour soak, easing our travel-sore muscles with the heat and a view of the nearby snow-capped volcanoes through the windows.

The next day we would attempt the crossing, with a ride from the lodge owner to the start of the trail, and a pick up at the end of the trail seven hours later.  As it would be a long day, we made dinner in the communal kitchen, chatted a bit with the other guests and had an early night.  We had a long walk ahead of us the next day, and we were really looking forward to the experience!

Return to Sydney

Ah, Sydney.  Back again! The weather was beautiful, and we were really looking forward to hanging out with our friends and family, as well as exploring the beautiful city.

We started off with a day wandering around the downtown, doing the usual touristy things – relaxing with a coffee in the Rocks neighbourhood with its cool old-fashioned buildings, walking across the iconic Harbour bridge and stopping in at the local history museum. All the while the spectacular shape of the Opera House loomed up on the horizon and called us over for a closer look. We opted to take a behind the scenes tour of the famous venue giving us a chance to learn about its interesting history and getting us inside the many performance areas that make the Opera House such an amazing addition to the scene in Sydney.

By now we had perfected travelling on the cheap, and took advantage of the many green spaces to eat our packed lunch.

On our way to meet up with friends, we strolled through the Botanical Gardens - it was sometimes hard to believe that we were in the middle of a bustling metropolitan city.

We had fantastic plans for the night courtesy of Ashlin: dinner at the Noodle Market, followed by a live show in one of Sydney’s bustling neighborhoods. We met up with our crew at the popular food festival and enjoyed a delicious boxed meal in the park. Ashlin’s crutches were a hit with the local Aussie kids who alternatingly tried to use them as weapons or pogo-sticks while we ate.

We then walked to the live show, where a stellar line up of bands rocked the night away. After the bands finished, dj's took to the stage to throw down a mix of 90's favourites. Given the age of the clubbers, there was a good chance that the music selection was meant to be "ironic" and so we only half-heartedly boogeyed when "Groove is in the Heart" came on. Fun night!

The next day was Saturday, and we headed with Keira and Dave by bus and then ferry to Manly Beach. Our friends Ritchie and Deirdre met up with us as well, along with friend and local resident Kristen, and we spent the day lazing around on the sand, chatting and catching some waves with Ritchie’s surfboard. 

In the late afternoon, we headed back in time to change and meet up with everyone at a cool bar in The Rocks district called The Hero of Waterloo. It is known for being one of the oldest bars in town, providing service for over 160 years, and we partied it up until closing time…midnight.  Like in the UK, the pubs tend to close early while the clubs stay open later. So we headed over to the bar at the Opera House to continue the celebration and were amazed at the fantastic night life in Sydney.

We woke up the next morning and recovered from the previous night over a delicious brunch we prepared for our awesome hosts, Kiera and Dave.  Our luck held with the weather and after a leisurely start to the day we headed over to Coogee for a last visit with Ritchie, Deirdre and Ashlin, enjoying the afternoon sunshine with an outdoor barbeque in the park. Australia has a great tradition of providing free outdoor barbeques with gas in the many outdoor parks throughout the country, activated at the simple flick of a switch.

We stretched out our visit to the last possible moment, chatting away into the night, until we finally had to say our last goodbyes in order to pack and get ready for our flight to New Zealand the next day.

We couldn’t believe that our time in Australia was ending.  It had been an amazing seven weeks...visiting with friends and family, becoming “radical” surfers and living the sweet gypsy life driving the coast in a campervan visiting some of the most beautiful beaches in the world.  What a dream come true, much like the rest of our trip so far.  As we hopped our flight to Auckland (NZ), we looked forward to visiting our friends that live in...oh oh...Wellington. Oops, flew into the wrong city, but that tale is still to come..

Southbound Surf Chase

After leaving Brisbane for the last time, we set our sights on the nearby Gold Coast where the waves were meant to be bigger and the surf culture more intense. The first indication of a change of pace from our time up north was in reaching Surfer’s Paradise, which incidentally is nothing of the sort – huge towers, lots of congestion and outlying areas with names like Miami Beach. Definitely not our scene.

We pressed on to Coolangatta, a place that had been recommended by a few sources, and stumbled upon the famous surf break called “Snapper Rocks”. The Roxy and Quicksilver Pro events are held here and the local surf club had the names of former champions written on the stairs. Kelly Slater had earned a fair few risers. Clearly, we were in good company and that afternoon Ben caught some of his first “big” waves of the trip.

After our success in parking in the Noosa Woods we were emboldened and so when we found no signs forbidding overnight parking, we promptly set up shop in the parking lot in front of Snapper, with a view of the surf right out our window. This was perhaps the most incredible parking spot we got all trip. While hanging out and having our meals in the van, people would walk by and ogle with envy at our amazing set up. Unfortunately it was too good to be true and the following night we were woken by the park ranger and had to relocate.

We made the most of our time at Snapper and Patricia had one of her favourite surf sessions of the trip, catching perfect long board waves all morning amongst very friendly local surfers who encouraged her all the way. We also took advantage of the beautiful beachside areas to jog, relax on the beach and enjoy a beer at sunset.

Ben even got a chance to try his hand at touching up his second hand board, definitely a step in the right direction towards becoming a "real" surfer!

As we were to learn, good surf is never guaranteed. Finding the perfect wave is the pursuit of every surfer and it requires so many forces of nature to come together all at once – tide, swell, wind, bottom conditions, sun, etc. And as the surf ebbed in Coolangatta, we made our move south, stopping in briefly at Fingal Head (no surf) and then reaching Carabitta where we took the opportunity to catch enough waves to send us to sleep at a caravan park with a nice fatigue from the effort.

The next morning we made our way back to the beach for another go at the waves and set our sights further south on the backpacker mecca of Byron Bay. We had timed things to arrive in Byron on a Saturday for maximum night life, given that we had been mostly in small towns and mainly chilling in our van. If we wanted people, we found them! Byron was jammed with van people, tons of backpackers and just about everyone was out to enjoy a meal and a drink. We had also heard that Byron was a very artsy town, filled with musicians and on this count we were definitely not disappointed by the local talent.

 

We walked near the beach, stopping to check out a drum circle that had formed and found a big Brasilian man in the middle running the show. Next up was a delicious meal and wine in the van (always doing things the cheapest way!) before heading out to find what action we could. The sweet sounds of acoustic guitar lead us around a street corner and we joined the crowd as a great musician entertained a packed restaurant. Further on, we found a big old building with quite a clamour coming from inside and a burly bouncer outside. After inquiring, we were told that it was a free punk show. Yes, free! We went straight in and had a really entertaining night listening to the local bands and chatting with fellow revellers.

That night we slept in a rest area and made the decision to carry on further south as we realized that we both preferred the charm of the small Aussie surf town. Next up was Brunswick Heads where the surf was really starting to pick up. Ben jumped in and caught the corner of the odd huge wave and otherwise tried not to get crushed. Meanwhile, we found the local Fisherman’s Co-Op and packed the van with fresh delights from the sea and also bought fresh veggies from the local market.

We also couldn’t resist stopping in for a piece of grilled cod at the Fisherman’s Co-Op which we spiced up with our own potatoes and salad. Patricia completely perfected pan fried fish during this period of the trip and each meal seemed better than the last.

It was during this time that we also stayed at a great little rest area called Yelgun where we met a really interesting young German couple and hung out together after dinner. They had been living in their awesome 4x4 camper truck for the last two years, along with their dog, taking tree planting contracts when available and traveling when not.

The town of South Golden Beach was just nearby and so we dropped in to check out the surf. Since it turned out to be quite churned up, we opted to head out for a run along a great little path that wound through the woods and town. The people of South Golden were incredibly friendly and the local café let us leave our computer charging while we enjoyed the outdoors. We had so many great experiences with friendly Aussies along the coast, it was really quite inspirational.

Waking up the next morning we decided to give the surf at Brunswick another look and what we saw pretty much took our breath away. The swell was massive, 6ft+ according to the forecast, the biggest of our five weeks on the trip, and a handful of the best local surfers were out putting on a show. We watched, spellbound, from the safety of the breakwater with coffee in hand as successive riders took on huge waves, sometimes with poetic success.

As the swell died down and the surfers paddled in, we hopped in our trusty van and headed further south towards Broken Heads. There we found a great caravan park located just opposite the beach where we shacked up for the night. It was a beautiful and secluded beach with a big headland creating an amazing point break. We hopped in the water that afternoon and Ben had his heart racing with a mix of excitement and nervousness after getting a hold of a few big ones. It’s an amazing feeling to race down the face of a good sized wave with the sound of a crash just behind you and white water licking at your feet!

We got a few good surf sessions in at Broken Heads and as the short board waves died down, the longboard waves improved and Patricia had a great time out there.  The sun in Australia is really strong, but she managed to beat the heat with an interesting outfit that looked like a mix between a Japanese fisherman, white-faced geisha and fifties pin-up girl. Oh yeah!

It was hard to leave, but we did so reluctantly that afternoon with the promise of dramatic scenery and more waves at Lennox Heads. As the surf wasn’t cooperating that night or the next morning, we returned to our beloved Broken Heads where we took a walk down 7 Mile Beach and had another lunch with a great view.

Next stop on our surf run was the fun-sounding town of Yamba. As usual we stopped in at the surf shop to acquire some local knowledge. There we met “Grumpy”, a grizzled veteran of the surf community in Yamba and much friendlier than his nickname suggested. Given the current messy conditions, he confided in us about a protected break along Pippi beach (in exchange for our vow of secrecy) and sure enough the waves were just right. More than that, each time we caught a wave in to shore, the headland rip brought us back out to the break with minimal paddling, like a moving sidewalk. That night we shacked up in the harbour parking lot and dined on fresh fish from the Co-op.

Next morning we drove out to Angourie, to check out what according to locals was the inspiration that drew most of the people to the Yamba area. There we found an amazing view down to the mythical point break (which unfortunately wasn’t working), had a breakfast and imagined ourselves surfing that spectacular sight.

As usual, we had to tear ourselves away from paradise and hit the road to check the surf which was rumoured to be good near Arrawarra. Upon arriving, we needed to get down to the beach across the property of a backpackers resort. As we walked through, a surf instructor ran frantically up the beach shouting about a medical issue and Patricia quickly offered to help. It turned out that one of his students had suffered a dislocated shoulder, which as we drew up on the scene had popped itself back into place, so our good doctor offered some advice on taking care of it over the next few days. The relieved instructor was more than happy to direct us to the break at the next beach over called Mullaway, a gorgeous spot, where Ben caught some waves with a couple of locals. As usual, the van had a pretty nice parking spot…

The surf wasn’t spectacular so we moved on to a spot we never would have discovered if it wasn’t for the incredible “Grumpy” of Yamba. He asked that we please stop in at Scott’s Head. On arriving, we knew he had made a memorable suggestion as the protection provided by the curving headland created a great point break and the town itself had done an incredible job in protecting the natural feel of the place by keeping development away from the forested shoreline. Patricia took full advantage of the fantastic right hander, catching some nice long rides into shore while Ben worked the fast closing beach break waves further away, getting a chance to practice popping up quickly as well as duck diving underneath the powerful force with increased confidence.

We found everything we could have wanted here: Nice clean bathrooms with separate indoor cold showers, free outdoor power outlets for our computer, a protected parking spot with an incredible view to watch the surf and super friendly locals. For our nightly parking spot we found our favourite rest area of the trip where we set up underneath the shade of some huge trees away from the road, giving it the feel of back country camping. Scott’s Head even had amazing mosaic art around the surf beach buildings. It was a magical destination that kept us hanging around for four days.

Managing to pull ourselves from the gravity of Scott’s Head one morning we made the trek to Crescent Head which boasted a better known point break. Popular it truly was as the water was packed with hopeful surfers. It was so crowded that Patricia actually got tangled up with another surfer on a wave (!), who was quite friendly about the whole situation as he unwrapped himself from her leash. We caught a few waves here, but the atmosphere in the water and in the town just couldn’t live up to Scott’s and so we moved back to our favourite spot after a morning session.

Our stay at Scott’s finally came to an end as the surf flattened out and our timing for returning to Sydney was getting tight. We selected Seal Rocks as our last go at the waves before returning to civilization, a rugged and beautiful place that gave us a perfect send off. We managed to fit in a run through the nearby National Park and an amazing breakfast by a freshwater lake where we sat in our comfy van sipping coffee and watching the incredible array of birds float by one after the other – pelicans, ducks, black swans. The wildlife buffet continued as upon returning to the coast we spotted dolphins cruising near the rocky point. The show-stopper was still to come when sitting on his board waiting for a wave, Ben spotted a pod of nearby whales playfully rising out of the water only to crash spectacularly down again. An incredible display!

 Finally, the time had come to return to Sydney, but we had arranged for ourselves one last ocean treat. Battling through morning rush hour traffic we arrived at Bondi Beach, a famous and beautiful surf spot in the city, to take on our last Aussie waves. Bondi didn’t disappoint in dramatics as the swell had built up to massive overhead height. Patricia worked a protected spot at the north end of the beach, catching a wave or two, including a spectacular flight through the air, while Ben tried his hand at the open break managing only to dodge the crushing waves and catch a "small" one back in to terra firma. We considered this a huge success in that we surfed a busy spot with big swell alongside experienced surfers with the feeling that we belonged out there. We were definitely now surfers! Wooooooooo!

That afternoon held one last hilarious surprise for us when Ben returned the van and the attendant seemed more relieved than normal. Turns out we had totally messed up the date and honestly thought we were returning on time when we were actually one day late. The company had been calling and emailing to try to track us down for more than 24 hours. “Woah man, you lost a day!”, exclaimed the rental guy (who chose not to charge us anything extra due to his happiness in getting the van back). But we saw it the other way around. We actually gained another day on the beautiful surf coast of Australia, a trip that seemed to just keep on giving right up until the end.