Our Photo Link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisjentravel
All of the photos on the pages are also in the sets that run along the side….its easier to use the sets to navigate and there are additional sets under “more setsâ€
We are definitely getting a little homesick!
More Photos from New Zealand and Europe will be up soon!!! Keep checking!
New Zealand was amazing. We had plenty of time to see most all of the two islands and more than enough time to drive through the mountains and past endless farms and herds of sheep. We were ready for a change of pace and excited to leave for the last leg of our trip.
The flight that we had pre-booked said that we had one layover in Dubai – a middle eastern country. We boarded the plane and (our huge mistake) had just never thought to add up the exact hours (time change and all). We were wowed by the inside of the Emirates plane – the economy looked more like first class – hot towels, personal TVs with video games, huge seats. The stewardess came by and gave us a menu of the meals and drinks and they were undoubtedly the best gourmet meals we had had the entire trip and sounded nicer than any we could afford in Europe. We sat back and with a sigh of relief, tuned into up-to-date movies, shows and music videos – almost basking in the small luxuries that we had gone without for so long. But, of course there’s a gruesome catch.
After buckling our belts and laughing that we wouldn’t want to get off the plane we noticed the plane’s course. We were headed from Auckland to Brisbane Austraila….not Dubai. Then we noticed another stop in Singapore, then Dubai, then Milan Italy and FINALLY Rome!!! So, although the tickets only listed 1 stop, we actually had 4. We sat and added the hours. 32. Read the rest of this entry »
The next day we drove through beautiful Christchurch, then stopped further down the coast in Oamaru, a quiet town known for its limestone constructed buildings, turn of the century architecture and colonies of blue and yellow-eyed penguins. It is reportedly the furthest point North to sight the nearly extinct animals so we took another walk out to the coast at dusk. We were treated to some far off views of the creatures returning to their nests in the dunes from a day at sea, but we couldn’t get as excited as the other bird watchers after we were spoiled with our time close to the seals.
After a drive further south through the buzzing university town of Dunedin, we turned inland and headed to Te Anau, our base for exploring Milford Sound. Read the rest of this entry »
Once out of Picton, the landscape changed drastically from what we were accustomed to. We drove over endless bare, dry mountains the golden color of beach sand; the only green was on those with perfectly maintained vineyards. As we neared the ocean, the land became increasingly green, littered with rocks and evergreen Christmas trees lining the empty coast (no homes or beach condos here).  We still had trouble grasping that as we drove south, our surroundings and the temperature became colder (our idea of driving North in the states). With stunning mountains lining the coast, we watched a train pass by (meters from the beach) through mountain carved tunnels.
We reached Kaikora, a town originally inhabited by the Maori people, then settled by the English as a whaling town. The English taught the Maoris how to whale and huge whale rib bones still jut out of the local seaside park grounds for children to play around. The small and quaint town is now known for whale watching (whaling being banned by the government in the 50’s) and skiing, and was littered with hotels, hostels and B&Bs. However, looking around, we found hostel after hostel full; we began checking every hotel. Every hotel, every hostel and every B&B was full. As we got to each new hotel we started to see the same cars pulling in ahead and behind us. Others off the ferry were looking for accommodation and we began to feel a slight onset of panic, followed by the notion that one night in the car wouldn’t be that bad, would it? Read the rest of this entry »
The 3-hour ferry ride to the South Island was smooth and picturesque. There are the usual good views of the surrounding mountainous coves, a short sea crossing then a maze of waterways of the expansive Marlborough Sound leading into Picton. Read the rest of this entry »
From the exciting Tongariro crossing, we headed through 4 equally quaint towns, all with something different to offer. First was Taupo- located on Lake Taupo, New Zealand’s largest lake. Second was Rotorua- a clean and relaxing town to unwind and lay in the park, watching sea planes take off from the lake while hordes of ducks and geese strolled by. Third was Gisborne- a really relaxed little beach town, one of the one’s that would be a nice place to live and not touristy at all. Last was Napier- a gorgeous small ocean front town, entirely stylized in pastel Art Deco architecture from the 1930’s when the town was rebuilt from a disasterous earthquake.
In the winter Taupo is a popular homebase for skiers. Although quite touristy, Taupo is located on the north end of gorgeous Lake Taupo, New Zealand’s largest lake. The lake is so large it appears to be a huge ocean bay. Looking south across the lake you can see the volcanoes and mountains from Tongariro – a perfect spot if you want to stop for a bite or hang out by the lake for a day. We only had one night and were exhausted from the hike earlier in the day, so we opted for the kind of night where we go to the hostel, eat, do laundry and sleep although the town did look like it had an abundance of restaurants and pubs. Read the rest of this entry »
Tongariro National Park is located in the center of the North Island. The region is filled with contrasting landscapes, from alpine mountain forests and streams to barren volcanoes, craters and emerald lakes. It is best known to outsiders as the backdrop for the hellish Mordor in the Lord of the Ring Movies. For its beauty and accessibility, it is also regarded as New Zealand’s finest one-day hike. We set up in nearby Turangi where we rented the necessary gear and arranged a drop off and pick up. Our hostel, Samuri, was a quiet and clean hostel with a very helpful owner who insisted on giving us all the tools we needed for our broken down car. The 7-8 hour, 17 km hike is one-way so we would have to leave our car behind, which we were happy to do given its recent starting problems.
Geared up with boots and rain gear, we made some PB&Js, ate breakfast and headed out to catch the bus to the hike’s entrance. The day began relaxed with a jolly, hippie Maori driver who dropped us off in the middle of nowhere at the start of a dirt path. Read the rest of this entry »
After our time underground we were anxious to get back to the beach. We drove next to Mount Plymouth, the base town for the Taranaki region, known for terrific surf as well as Mt. Taranaki, which looms over the whole area. The mountain, actually a dormant volcano, has been compared to Mt. Fuji in Japan for its striking conic appearance and is visible from all around the surrounding land and sea. In the summer it is a challenging but very easily accomplished one-day climb so we thought we’d give it a try while in the area. We checked with a local climbing shop and found out a very large group climb was planned for the next day so we would have to set out early to even get a parking spot nearby. After finding another cozy cabin in a holiday park and checking the surf, which was nonexistent, we made plans to get up early the next morning and begin our ascent. But, to make a short story even shorter, we packed all our gear and food, prepared for the climb, went to bed early, woke up at 5am and packed our ancient rental car, only to discover it wouldn’t start. With no light and sleep in our eyes, it was hopeless to try to get it fixed so we went back to bed. Remarkably, 3 hours later I jiggled the battery connection and the car started immediately. With another long hike of the Tongariro Crossing already planned for the next day, we chalked our luck up to a good omen and decided to scrap the Taranaki climb altogether to save our energy.
The Waitoma region of the North Island s small but has over 300 mapped underground caves, like a town built over Swiss cheese. There are a variety of activities centered around the caves, like abseiling (repelling), blackwater rafting (tubing in underground rivers), glowworm tours and of course just old fashioned cave hiking. We initially booked a blackwater rafting tour but were then talked into a more varied tour that included some hiking, climbing, tubing and swimming by one of the locals who let us in on a little secret that the rafting is really just drifting along slowly in a tube.
After our routine hostel search (which were all full) we checked with a Top 10 Holiday Park, a popular place for RVs and Campers. They actually had great, clean private cabins with linens, a sink, electric kettle and immaculate shared bathrooms for the same price of a hostel. We backed our car right up to our door (it beeps when it backs up like the forklifts in Home Depot), looked out to the endless grass fields and mountains in our “backyard†and wished Morgan was with us. He would have loved exploring the place with his nose down. We had some time to kill before our tour. Looking around, we found a perfectly kept pool, hot tub and trampoline! With no kids in sight, Chris and I headed straight to the trampoline to jump around. Laughing like we were children, we double jumped each other as high as possible until we remembered how tired you get on trampolines. Next we retired to the pool to hop back and forth between the freezing cold pool and the hot tub. We were in heaven; the Holiday Park was more like a 5 Star luxury hotel to us.
Ready and rested for our caving tour, we walked across the street to meet up with our guide for the day. Read the rest of this entry »
Driving back through Auckland and South towards the West coast, we felt like we were getting into the real New Zealand – surf, mountains, volcanoes and endless adventure activities. We knew little about our next stop, Raglan, other than the fact that it was home to a famous surf break featured in the movie The Endless Summer. Since we would be stuck there for our first married Valentine’s Day, we hoped for the best. Luckily, it did not disappoint. As soon as we descended the main drive leading into the city and down the main street, we were struck by the quaitness and character of the isolated town. Turn of the century houses, buildings and hotels mixed with just a touch of more modern dining, construction and “beachinessâ€. We settled into a quiet 19th century hotel that reminded us a lot of Casa Marina where we were married, huge magical keys with the doorknobs at chest level. With about 4 hours until sunset we got directions to the main beach from the receptionist and we were off (in our “so Un-Automatic carâ€) to get a little surf and sun before dinner.
Wainui Beach at Raglan was right out of our “if I could design the perfect beach†ideas, Read the rest of this entry »
pcschroeder