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!