New Zealand: January 2009

Friday, January 23, 2009

#18 Mohaka River Rafting

The Mohaka River runs from source to sea, meaning it flows uninterrupted by dams from the Kaweka Range to Hawke's Bay.

Would you trust this guide?

Me neither.

For our first stop we went into a cave that was forged by miners searching for precious minerals (copper?). We walked single file into the cave, which went maybe 35 ft deep, then we turned around and walked out. It made me claustrophobic. Undisputed highlight of the trip.

Back to rafting.

Many moons ago the river carved spectacular gorges through the landscape. The obvious result being great cliff jumping territory. Seashells can be seen in some of the rock, a reminder that it was once part of the ocean floor.

Move it or lose it, oompla loompas.

#17 Hawke's Bay

The charming seaside town of Napier.

Napier was destroyed by an earthquake in 1931 and was rebuilt almost entirely in art deco style. I didn't get pictures of the downtown area, but I'm going back soon. It's only 2.5 hours from Taupo.

Statue of Pania

The red blossomed tree in the background is a Pōhutukawa, aka New Zealand Christmas Tree. The flowers are in full bloom in late December.

That night I went to Black Barn Winery to see the movie Death at a Funeral (funny!). The winery has an open air theater with terrace seating.

The next day I went to Hawke's bay to do a wine tasting bicycle tour. This was super fun, but it would have been better if I hadn't been by myself (what a loser!).

I soon realized that, somewhere between the red wine and the darkness, I had lost my camera at the movie the night before. I was so mad at myself that I couldn't enjoy myself anymore. The weather had turned rainy anyway, so I left a day early. I drove home in tears like big baby. A couple weeks later the winery found my camera and mailed it to me (thank you, Black Barn Winery!) As a token of my thanks, I'm going back for a concert next month to spend more money.