Travelogue 56--New Zealand, Part 1

We flew to Auckland (on New Zealand's North Island) and spent the first few days seeing some of the sights. We especially liked the Auckland Domain and the Auckland War Memorial Museum which had some very interesting Maori exhibits. Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand and is home to almost 1/3 of the entire population of the country. It is like most other big cities--traffic, fumes, lots of people. It does, however have a beautiful harbor and a wonderful setting by the water. After a couple days we got brave enough to get a rental car so Tom could begin relearning to drive on the left side of the road. My job was to cheer him on with such loving words as "Keep left. Keep left. No your other left!" It was a whole new experience to get in on the other side of the car, shift with the left hand (on a manual transmission), and try to remember that the turn signals and wipers were on opposite sides from "normal." At first every turn resulted in the windshield wipers being activated--it was rather humorous!

Views of Rangitoto Island (ancient volcano) and Auckland city center

We tried to find a small used RV in good shape to buy around Auckland, but we didn't have much luck. We did get familiar with a lot of this city of 1.3 million people as we responded to ads and found RV dealerships. We decided to head out in a rental car and start enjoying our trip, figuring we'd find something to buy along the way. We set out for the Coromandel Peninsula which is on the North Island east of Auckland.

Pohutukawa tree (a.k.a. the New Zealand Christmas tree); the Firth of Thames

All along our drive we were awed by the beauty of the pohutukawa trees which were ablaze with their red blossoms. This tree is known as New Zealand's Christmas tree as it blooms every year in December and January. It sure is an eye-catching sight! We traveled to the town of Thames to meet up with Dwight and Nitchy Ballard. Dwight is the brother of a friend of ours, Pauline Child. Nitchy is his delightful Kiwi wife. We spent a lovely evening with them, and they graciously invited us to stay the night in their guest room. The next morning we headed north around the Coromandel Peninsula.

Fisherman on a beach along the Coromandel

The mountainous hillsides covered with forests of tree ferns and other native trees

The Square Kauri tree and Siamese Kauri trees--some of the oldest native trees still remaining

We enjoyed exploring side roads and seeking out the ancient kauri trees. The kauri trees are one of the native NZ species that were almost logged to extinction. These towering, massive trees provided lots of lumber, and very few of them remain today.

The view from the Mana Retreat Center; The Chapel near the Mana Retreat Center

We noticed a sign for the Mana Retreat Center--mana means "spirit" in the Maori language. We decided to check it out. This wonderful facility had breathtaking views and wonderful energy. If I ever go back to put on a seminar or workshop in New Zealand, this is the place I will hold it! The staff also told us about the Chapel which was still under construction. They gave us directions and special permission to check out this special place. It was built to honor all the paths to God and is a nondenominational facility. The Chapel also has perfect acoustics which I had to check out. I got chills down my spine as I sang "Amazing Grace"--it even made me sound like I had a good voice!

View looking out from the Mana Retreat Center Chapel >

Beaches and coastline of the Coromandel Peninsula

Waiau Falls on the 309 Road

As we completed our tour of the Coromandel, we ended up at Mount Maunganui. From internet research I had done I knew there was an RV dealership here that sold used rigs. We decided to check it out, and sure enough, they had the perfect little campervan for us. We called it the Mini-Apple (since our big rig we live in is the APPLE). It was only 16 ft. long, and had all the comforts of home. (Well, almost.) To see pictures of our little rig, click here.

Getting the money and paperwork sorted out took several days, so we had lots of time to hike around the mount many times and see the sights in the area. (We owe special thanks to a very good friend of ours back in MN for helping us get the financial side worked out--Thanks so much!) If any of you plan to do something similar (e.g., make a major purchase overseas not on a credit card), contact us, and we'll share our learnings!

Tom on beach by Mount Maunganui; view of the city of Mount Maunganui from the top of the Mount

The beach at Mount Maunganui; View of Tauranga from Mount Maunganui with pohutukawa trees in foreground

Tom with a view of Tauranga Bay in the background taken from Mount Maunganui

After leaving Mount Maunganui in our new little campervan, we headed for the remarkable Waitomo Caves where the glow worms light up the ceiling like thousands of stars. Taking the boat ride through the dark with the pin points of light sparkling above was magical and enchanting. We recommend it highly.

As New Year's Eve approached, we headed for Tongariro National Park. This park has three main mountains within its boundaries--Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu. These volcanic mountains are still occasionally active and have been know to disrupt the ski season on Mount Ruapehu. We went for a walk to Tawhai Falls then headed for a New Year's Eve buffet at the Skotel (ski-hotel).

Tongariro National Park--Stream and Tawhai Falls

Sunset view of Tongariro and Ngauruhoe Mountains on New Year's Eve

That night we saw the Southern Cross and the Clouds of Magellan in the bright night sky. It was cool and crisp evening--what a great way to see in the New Year!

Mount Ruapehu

On New Year's Day Tom hiked the Tongariro Crossing--a rigorous 7 hour hike through the mountains, past volcanic steam vents, emerald lakes and across moonlike terrain. The weather was clear and cool--a spectacular day for a great hike!

Taranaki Falls, 81 ft. high; Taranaki Falls with Ruapehu in background

We did several other smaller hikes in the park and enjoyed viewing the mountains from many angles.

Ruapehu with "The Wall" on the left (from Lord of the Rings); Tom enjoying Lake Rotopounamu with Mount Pihanga in background

We finished our explorations of Tongariro National Park by taking a nice hike around Lake Rotopounamu before heading off for Lake Taupo where our next travelogue will pick up.

Love from the wanderers as the journey continues...

Kay & Tom

Checkout the other Travelogue entries!