North Island, New Zealand

Hello from New Zealand! Home of Kiwis (aka New Zealanders), the kiwi bird (NZ’s national symbol), kiwifruit, Lord of the Rings, bungy jumping and other adrenalin sports, and Flight of the Conchords, where flip-flops are called jangles and hiking is called tramping, where people greet you with “Hiya!” and use the expression “sweet as” or “choice” instead of “great” or “cool”. And just like Canadians hate being compared to Americans, don’t liken a Kiwi to an Aussie…



We began our adventure on the north island (NZ consists of north and south islands, in case you didn’t know) about one week ago when we flew into Auckland. We decided to skip the hustle and bustle of the big city (for now) and drove to the coastal town of Raglan. Raglan, rugged and wildly beautiful, is NZ’s premier surf haven for beginners and experts alike and also where the movie The Endless Summer was filmed. Coming off of three consecutive days of great surfing in Australia, Chris was keen to test out NZ’s west coast surf.



From Raglan we headed south to Waitamo, known for its stunning limestone creations, underground streams, and glowworm grottos. We had lots of fun exploring the glowworm-lit caverns of the Waitomo caves by inner tube. The glowworm is actually not a worm at all, but the larva of a fly and what glows is the worm’s waste product – bet you didn’t know that!

From Waitomo we headed further south to Tongariro National Park in order to complete what is known as one of the top 10 day hikes in the world - the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, an 18km, 6-8 hour day hike (or tramp) including a cold mountain spring, lava flows, an active volcanic crater, steam vents, emerald-coloured lakes, and magnificent views. Because of both its powerful beauty and enormous cultural significance to the Maori, NZ’s indigenous peoples, Tongariro National Park is one of only a handful of sites in the world to be given dual World Heritage Status.























Did you know that Tongariro doubled as Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings trilogy? But we didn't see any eyes...

Despite the weather calling for rain and intermittent periods of “fine” weather (that means sunny here), we awoke early the morning of the hike to a bright sun and blue skies. Thank God! But, had it rained, we would have been (sort of?) prepared. The night before Chris fashioned some plastic ponchos out of garbage bags...again, thank God it was sunny so that we didn’t have to wear them…



see what we mean…

Here’s a helpful hiking tidbit - if you’re planning a long hike, coat your feet with antiperspirant for a few days before the big day and then the day of – it reduces sweating, and therefore, blisters.

Sore and tired the next day, we drove to Tokannu and indulged in some hot thermal pool soaking and did more of the same in Rotorua, a hotbed of geothermal activity, where geyers spray, ponds glow, and thermal spas and gurgling mud pools relax and reinvigorate. And it stinks like sulphur.

Apparently Rotorua is also the mountain bike capital of NZ, so Chris indulged in a downhill escapade on a $10,000 rental bike (Intense 6.6, in case you’re curious, Greg).

Today we find ourselves in Tauranga, the east coast of the north island and in the beautiful Bay of Plenty. We had what is likely our last beach day of this trip as the south island (where we head to tomorrow after the day in Auckland) is a lot colder - highs of 15-20 degrees.



OK, don’t hate us right now, we’ll be right there with you in the snow and rain in a week and a half…)…

We fly out to Christchurch tomorrow night…more from the south island next week.

Cheers!
a&c