#20 Northland & Raglan

In February Marketa and I took a trip up to Northland, which is the northern part of the north island - it's in the north, just north of everything else. And there's a lot of water around but also some land, so it is called Northland. It was the first area of NZ to be settled by Europeans.

We first went to Paihia, a really cute little beach town which serves as the gateway to the Bay of Islands. Marketa and I rented two kayaks to paddle out to some of the nearby islands. The beach was covered in paua shells (aka abalone).
I took lots of pictures of shells. Marketa practiced her strokes for Huka Falls.



I thought my grandma had paid me a surprise visit, but it wasn't her.

That night we had a romantic dinner complete with wine, candlelight, and the best seafood I've had in a long time. Unfortunately the wine didn't have exactly the effect I had hoped for and instead of hitting up the beach bars we went to sleep.

The next day we took a cruise through the bay and saw lots of dolphins.


We came to Motuarohia Island, which has two lagoons, and went snorkeling. I found an octopus, so that made my day.

It's fair to say that the water was pretty clear.
Then we walked up to the highest point on the island to see the gorgeous views.

We drove west across the peninsula and came to the twin towns of Opononi & Omapere. There was a huge sand dune across the bay. We wanted to slide down the thing but the sand was hot and we were feeling lazy about getting a ferry across.
The beach was so beautiful that we stayed there all day swimming and laying around. I couldn't believe there was hardly anybody there.


There were plenty of cool rocks to keep me busy for hours.

We took a second trip to Raglan, a renowned surf town on the west coast. It was an overcast day, but still wonderfully humid.

On the drive back we stopped by Bridal Veil Falls for some refreshments and to look at the waterfall.


New Zealand countryside.

I pulled over several times to get pictures of the sunset.

Moving soon

Thank you to everyone for sending packages and cards, it's been fun getting international mail. I'm going to be heading down to the south island in a couple weeks, so my Taupo address will no longer be available. I will post my new address as soon as I get one. I should probably decide on what town I'm going to...

#19 Tongariro Crossing

The 12 mile trek across Mt Tongariro takes about 7 hours. It's a one-way walk and has been called New Zealand's best one day hike. The views are incredible.

Me, Marketa & Deborah. We weren't the first group to finish, but we were definitely the best-looking.

It is recommended that you bring 2 litres of water. Deborah packed 6L and a camelback. That bag must have been half her weight. Not to mention all the food we brought. Including a wheel of brie. I like the way she thinks. We were the best-looking and had the best snacks. Deborah ended up dumping 4L of water out at the top.

What not to wear:

Lots of uphill. Looking back at the aptly named Devil's Staircase:

Irresistible rock to climb

Everywhere you turned there was a spectacular view

We got really excited when we saw this, and the sights only got better:

Blue Lake

Definitely blue

Mt Ngauruhoe. Between the 3 of us we probably took 500 pictures of this mountain. Seriously.

360 degree views

First glimpse of the Red Crater

I felt like I was on another planet.

The Red Crater & Mt Ngauruhoe

The Emerald Lakes. Another 500 photos.


My favorite color

Hoodlums






Mt Ruapehu still holding onto some patches of snow in the background, Mt Ngauruhoe, Red Crater

I was looking forward to the downhill part of the walk after feeling the burn uphill. But the downhill ended up being more painful than the uphill. It took forever. Just when we thought we were almost to the bottom, a sign told us we had another two hours to go. Not easy on the knees.

Lake Rotoaira, with massive Lake Taupo behind it

We reached the only sheltered part of the crossing, the beech forest

By this point, even Deborah was tired

All three of us fell asleep on the bus ride back to Taupo. Once we got back into town, we got some burgers then went straight to Mulligan's (where else?).

By then it was debatable whether or not we were still the most attractive trio in NZ. At least Marketa held it together.

Alpine crossing + 3 ciders = Jenna is delirious

View of the mountains from Taupo

This hike was so amazing that I want to come back and do it again in winter, when everything is covered in snow. Vanessa? Lisa? Yeah?