Returning to Te Ika-a-Māui

41. Rotorua: Redwoods

Thursday, March 21: Sunny the whole day, quite warm, a couple of clouds towards evening

Tramping: 13.1 km

Funky Green Voyager (Genevieve)

The kitchen was rather full this morning, but I somehow managed to squeeze my breakfast preparations in between the many French guests. Packing seemed to go quite easily, and just after 9:00 I was looking for destinations for an activity today and saw that a bus could take me (almost) to the Redwoods and was leaving @ 9:48.

Dragged my stuff to the reception and was down at the bus stop in a few minutes. Bus was a little late, but for $2.8 I was at the corner where the Rifle Ridge Road begins in a few minutes. Read more…

40. Rotorua

Wednesday, March 20: Cloudy and colder in the morning becoming clear & sunny by the afternoon

Walking: 8.9 km

Funky Green Voyager (Nick)

Breakfast was self-supplied: OJ, two toasted ham sandwiches (finally impressed by a sandwich toaster that doesn’t leave a mess behind and is otherwise straightforward to clean) and coffee.

Then all the stuff had to be packed up and moved out of the room because consecutive nights in the same room were not on offer. Everything packed up neatly and I was considering what to do with the day and in the process made the acquaintance of Nele, a French woman living in Cork. Read more…

39. Taupo – Rotorua

Tuesday, March 19: Cloudy in the morning, becoming sunny & warm

Funky Green Voyager, 4 Union St, various single rooms, $50

Was up just before the alarm, and Donna was already gone, although Steve seemed to still be around, and moved his car in the driveway. I had the usual breakfast, washed the dishes, decided I had enough time for a shave, and then the rest of the stuff was thrown into the suitcase.

Ready to go @ 9:30, passed one bus driver moving today’s bus to its departure position. Long wait for the buses, and there were three in total, one to Auckland, one to Wellington, and our small one to Rotorua. In the end the bus was full, and the bus driver was about fifteen minutes behind schedule. Anyway the trip was not particularly long, and we were soon in Rotorua and the long trek back down the main road could begin. Was greeted here by Essex and shown my first room (Astrid). Read more…

38. Taupo: Acacia Bay

Monday, March 18: Overcast to begin with, becoming fine, hot & sunny with some active looking cumulus clouds

Cycling: 17.8 km

Donna’s

Today was a day for planning the rest of the trip and trying to get the rest of the planning to set. After a shower and a breakfast of cornflakes & muesli, toast with the last of the tramping butter, OJ, and coffee, I set to work to try to confirm the reservation in Rotorua, and then to see how to get from there to the Far North.

Flights were still available for around $300 – slightly above that if you wanted only an hour’s wait in Auckland, slightly below if a four hour wait was OK. Considering it was the very last minute (and the Saturday was cheaper than the surrounding days) I wonder what it would have cost if I had tried a week ago – as I should have. In any case a 6:45 departure would have meant getting up @ 5:00, and I still would have needed transport to Paihia from Bay of Islands airport, so at this point in time the bus was the last acceptable solution in terms of price v. duration @ $84 – start is @ 7:45, arrival is 17:15. This is @ the limit of decidability. Read more…

37. Taupo: Huka Falls – Aratiatia Rapids

Sunday, March 17: fine, warm, variable cloud

Tramping: 27.8 km

Donna’s

The alarm hadn’t been turned off so I was awake at 6:30, but was able to snooze for an hour or so. The next challenge was breakfast, managed to get everything together except for the toaster, so had a fried muffin instead of a toasted one.

Then a couple of slices of bread were prepared as sandwiches for the walk today, and with all the equipment on board (except for the PLB) I set off for the Aratiatia Rapids. Bit of a walk along the street to begin with, then through the Spa Thermal Park where a disc golf tournament was just beginning and then to the river where there is a freebie hot stream complete with café, toilets and changing rooms. The river has quite a strong current and I thought it might be a nice idea to float down the river a bit, if only for the falls. Read more…

36. New Plymouth – Taupo

Saturday, March 16: Very cloudy to begin with, clearing to moderately cloudy by afternoon

Donna’s (airbnb, $53.8)

The alarm seemed to work OK, and I was the only one about the house (except for two cats who were in various stages of interaction). I managed to get a coffee and a couple of slices of toast with cheese on top for the improvised breakfast. Everything packed into the suitcase and backpack, with the supplementary pack almost empty, because the tent fit into the suitcase.

I was ready for my taxi by 7:20 and put my stuff out on the corner. One from another company passed by, then the bus that I was later to take and the driver and I saluted each other. Then @ 7:30 my ordered taxi. Read more…

35. Day off in New Plymouth

Friday, March 15: Sunny, hot & humid

Colin’s

Today was a day for a bit of a sleep-in, followed by breakfast from Theresa, who as a night owl gets up later in any case. Breakfast was fried eggs, tomatoes and mushrooms on toast with tea, and was partaken with Eric over meandering conversation. At some point Theresa had to prepare for a customer (she is a masseuse) and we set about our work.

New Plymouth Post Office Tower mirrored in Govett-Brewster Art Gallery

First I had to remove everything from the pack and sort out some washing. Then the raincoat and the pack had to be washed out in the driveway with the hose; plenty of foam still forming in the pack, and these were hung out on the line to dry. The boots were not getting very dry as they were. As I was finishing the hose job, Theresa’s customer rolled up in her car with custom plates and before she went into the house introduced herself to me as “Jill” (which was clear from the plates). Read more…

34. Kahui – North Egmont (AMC 4)

Thursday, March 14: Clear skies above this morning, cloud below, a couple of half-hearted showers, a few sunshowers and fairly warm

Tramping: 18.6 km

Colin & Theresa’s (airbnb, $68.9)

Was up around 6:00 this morning after all the sleep from yesterday and nothing much was very dry, but it all had to be packed in. Noticed almost too late that the water I was trying to boil had almost the color of the coffee I was trying to prepare. The water from the drinking tap was not much better, but anyhow the coffee had to be finished up, as well as a couple of other things.

I was ready to go by 8:00 and had enough time to look around for the lost croc for ten minutes. Nothing found, so I set up the GPS. I had left the ski undershirt on, had the camera in the pack, and had the pack cover on as well. Got a signal after a while and set off. Read more…

33. Waiaua Gorge – Kahui (AMC 3)

Wednesday, March 13: Storm with rain overnight, less rain @ around 7:00, until quite a rainy period from 11:00 – 15:00

Tramping: 6.4 km

Kahui Hut (Doc, $5)

The hut hadn’t really cooled down that much during the night, although the fire had soon been reduced to embers. I was up @ 7:00 and was packed ready to go soon after 8:15. It was going to be a rain-prepared day so I had the raincoat on, camera in the pack, GPS in a plastic bag, and I would have put the two bob watch in a plastic bag as well, but inserting it pushed two buttons at once which reset the time to the zero hour. This had to be rectified before continuing, so the camera had to be taken out again to find the time. Tripod was carried breastwise, the two crox were tied to the front strap extensions and the pack was put under wraps. Read more…

32. Lake Dive – Waiaua Gorge (AMC 2)

Tuesday, March 12: Clear skies overnight with mixed cloud returning during the day

Tramping: 9.3 km

Waiaua Gorge Hut (Doc, $15)

Venus was very low as the morning star, and the sunrise was almost photographable. When I had my stuff together I took off for the lake to take photos of the reflections of Fantham’s Peak. Quite a day for photos today – at least while I was walking – as the sun shone through a little.

Took the climb at a very measured pace (was still sweating) and was surprised to be at the turnoff after just an hour. A ten-minute break was necessary here before I took off around the mountain. Fairly easy to begin with, then the ravines became more and more daunting and difficult to cross. Got some good photos anyway. This took a good two hours, and the final part was around the base of some basaltic flutes, just like Madeira, but somewhat drier. The track, however, was shot to bits, and care was required. After a while I could see where the route went down a ridge and decided on lunch in the sun on the ridge at just after 12:00. Read more…