3 March 2020 - Raglan and Ngarunui Beach - New Zealand

Today is the last full day of our first trip to NZ. We needed to get back to Auckland by the 4th so we decided on a random town on the west coast. I was drawn to Raglan thinking it had some reference to Irish history along with the poem/song; however, it seems the town history is not related to Ireland. We arrived rather late so we only had half a day to explore before starting our final drive to get in position for the flight home.

The town area had a nice set of small shops and restaurants. There were also a few places to rent bikes and kayaks. I would have liked to have spent a few days in this area.

The nearby beach, Ngarunui, is a popular surfer's beach. Kind of wished I would have rented a board and gone out for a few sets.

We also visited Wedding Veil falls which included a 15km drive from town. We never get sick of these kinds of hikes and views!

This concludes the blog posts for our first trip to NZ.

2 March 2020 - Waitomo - New Zealand

One of the remaining north island places I wanted to visit was the Waitomo Glow Worm Caves. We left the town of Hamilton to start our drive. Along the way, we found a Kiwi (the official bird of NZ) sanctuary. Like most tourists, we had been hoping to see such a bird but were disappointed that they were not everywhere. Turns out Kiwis are nocturnal ground birds!

We arrived a little later to the Waitomo Glow Worm Caves than I intended, but managed to get tickets at the local i-Site tour center. I, unfortunately, chose the cave tour where photos were not allowed. But, maybe this is a good thing, reducing my negative impact with eco-tourism.

Here is a google image search. The photos really don't do it justice. It was like staring up at a clear night's sky and enjoying the stars. 

1 March 2020 - Gisborne Cape (eastern) - New Zealand

Today was mostly about driving around the eastern cape or Gisborne Cape. Our goal was to explore the coast a little more, then head towards Rotorua. It was a much longer drive than expected, but there were a few rewarding discoveries along the way.

The morning graced us with another nice sunrise. I managed to capture another time-lapse.

  One of our first stops ended up being an interesting historic shipping wharf. Located on Tolaga bay, this landmark is where shipments occured across the 1800's into the early 1900s.

Our next main stop was the small town of Te Araroa where we enjoyed a snack and a fresh coffee. Nearby, we enjoyed yet another beach.

Rounding out the Cape we found ourselves back on the Bay of Plenty. We enjoyed the coastline and then finally headed inland.

Our final stop of the day was Rotorua. I really wish we could have spent more time here but also had to make a tough scheduling choice about a visit to the west coast and Waitomo. We had dinner then continued on to Hamilton where we would spend the night.

29 February 2020 - Napier to Gisborne - New Zealand

Happy leapyear day! We had not spent much time in the rest of Napier, so this morning we went exploring was has been called the Art Deco capital of NZ. It was a little bit cloudy and rainy, but the weather eventually cleared.

We also found a nice farmer's market and sampled some of the local foods and produce. I love farmers markets!

Next, we headed north out of town with the goal of driving around the eastern cape, starting at the town of Gisborne. With no further tours scheduled, we were free to go whatever pace we wanted. Along the way, we found another hike/waterfall.

We also stopped in the small town of Wairoa and visited a black sand beach nearby.

The day ended at Makorori Beach. Leveraging our self-contained status on the camper van, we enjoyed a peaceful night at the ocean.

28 February 2020 - Napier - New Zealand

I asked my travel companion if there was anything in NZ she really wanted to experience. Besides the awesome suggestion for whitewater rafting, she said we needed to visit some wineries. While I am not much of a fan of wine, I do like learning about farming and processes. We discovered that here on the North Island there is a whole trail of locations starting on the southeast coast with Napier. The drive was a few hours but very pleasant views of rolling hills and a few waterfalls.

We left early and arrived with plenty of time to take an afternoon wine tour. I do like it when someone else is driving as I can enjoy myself a little bit more. Our first stop was the Pask winery as well as a visit to the unique local vineyards. I learned a great lesson on the difference between wine grapes and table grapes.

Next, we visited Ash Ridge winery for another tasting as well as a nice little meal (all the yummy things you can pair with wine). There was a neat sign post here with distances to other famous wine regions. While there was no love for Temecula, it was fun to see Stelenbosh (Capetown, South Africa) and the distance.

Our final winery of the day was Moana Park, a unique location known for all vegan wines. Now that was a learning experience. I figured that all wines, from grapes, were already vegan, but I didn't realize all the additives that often get added. Popular animal-derived fining agents used in the production of wine include blood and bone marrow, casein (milk protein), chitin (fiber from crustacean shells), egg albumen (derived from egg whites), fish oil, gelatin (protein from boiling animal parts), and isinglass (gelatin from fish bladder membranes). It was refreshing to enjoy such a simplified wine.

We ended the day with a walk to a Mexican Cantina (had to see what a NZ variation was like for a pair of Californians) and then watched the sunset from Perfume Point.

 

Here's the video...

https://youtu.be/fBs76iT6wwQ

27 February 2020 - Lake Taupo and Turangi - New Zealand

We left Matamata and headed for Lake Taupo. On the way we found Haka (foam) Falls. The lake and similarly named town was a nice treat and I wish we could have spent more time exploring. However, we had a goal and an appointment the next day in Turangi, about 40km on the other side of the lake. If you look closely enough, you can see Mt. Ngauruhoe (LotR Mt Doom in Mordor) in the distance.

What was that goal?

We went white-water rafting for the first time in our lives. I was definitely stepping out of my comfort zone for this but decided it was important. The water was cold! Our guide, Jess, taught us the commands and helped our random group of strangers navigate a class 3 rapid. I am hooked and can't wait to go again.

Video: