After being lazy in keeping my blog updated, I will skip my first two weekends of shorter one day trips to the Waitakere Ranges on the West Coast (55km from Auckland), Shakespeare Park, and the surf beaches around Raglan (2 hours south of Auckland). However, I want to make sure to write some words about our roadtrip over the long Easter weekend (we had Friday, Monday and Tuesday off 
). Posting pictures withing the article isn’t quite how I like it best. As long as I don’t have a picture lirbrary set up, I will only post some very few pictures. If you like, you can download the whole collection of Easter-pictures from “Picture collections” in three parts of 10mb each.
We left Auckland on Friday morning at around 7am to drive south to Raglan. After having taken surfing lessons the weekend before, we wanted to improve our freshly gained skills on the water.
The waves were awesome for us newbies, although we definitely felt that some spirit had carried over from the week before to make us master those waves like surfchamps. The only problem was our physical condition. There is a reason all those surfers look like spending most of their time bodybuilding. Surfing is one of the most exhausting sports I have tried so far since their is no (wind)surf sail to help you out of the water once you have learned the trick of waterstarting. Paddling against and through the incoming swell is pretty discouraging at times when the waves carry you 20m back to the beach each time they hit you. Then, by the time you have made good those 20m, the next washes you back 25m. This is how Sisyphus must have felt like…
Surfing wasn’t enough for the day though, we had to stick to our plan to go to the Bridal Veil Falls close to Raglan, a beautiful waterfall of almost 60m (200ft) in height, plunging down into a pool of water underneath creating rainbows in the mist. We had a small picknick to prepare for another three hours of driving south to National Park, a small village close to the Tongariro National Park. The park holds the major volcanoes of Mt. Tongariro, Mt. Ngauruhoe (Mt. Doom in Lord of the Rings), and Mt. Ruapehu, the tallest of the three at almost 2800m (9300ft) ( the landscape of Mordor was filmed there). Our plan was to leave early on Saturday to climb Mt. Ruapehu by noon and be back at the car in the afternoon. The amazing 1200m climb took us about four and a half hours, mostly due to frequent stopping. We were enchanted by the views on this beautiful and clear day. We could see as far west as Mt. Taranaki on the West-coast, which is about 100km away, and an amazing volcanoe itself (like pretty much any other mountain on the North-Island ).
Mt. Ruapehu is an active volcano with the two biggest ski resorts on the North Island of New Zealand. It last erupted in 1995, when the Crater Lake was evaporated and blasted into the atmosphere in a huge explosion. Leftovers and traces from that eruption are still visible on the mountain, part of which is the dark layer of dust on top of the glacier which is several meters thick.
Towards the afternoon, the first clouds formed in the distance. This is common for the area, which is the reason why early morning hikes are recommended. We were back at the car around 3pm, leaving us with some time to relax and enjoy a cappuccino and a chocolate brownie on the premises of the ski resort. The drive to Taupo took us about an hour and a half, leading us through ever changing terrain from volcanic desert through fern woods and rainforest-like hilly areas on the Central Plateau to flat Plains closer to Lake Taupo, the caldera formed after one of the biggest volcanic eruptions in the younger history of our planet (26500 years ago with more than 1100km³!!! of ejected material). This eruption lead to the forming of a caldera because the amoung of ejected material caused the overlying mass to collapse and fill the gap. It is now a reasonably circular lake of about 50km in diameter which is world-famous for its trout-fishing and outdoor activities.
However, after a long day of hiking, we preferred the famous sport of “abzappeln” (dancing) in one of the Irish clubs in town refilling our lack of minerals with cooled, isotonic drinks made from hops
Our mineral balance was quickly reestablished which somewhat caused our sense of balance to be messed up in a strange way… thus, we allowed ourselves a good sleep-in the next morning to fully recover (from both our mineral overkill and hiking). The plan for the day said: Thermal Wonderland
We had thought the volcano would remain the highlight of the weekend, but soon we were convinced that the Thermal Wonderlands of Orakei and Waiotapu played in the same league as would Hot Water Beach and Cathedral Cove later on during our trip. I think in this case, the pictures speak for themselves. All colours of the rainbow, growling from the underground, boiling lakes of green and deep blue as well as yellow, geysers, craters without a bottom end, and rotten-egg-like smells from sulfuric acids diffusing out of the ground… I think that sums up the impressions we picked up in the parks between Taupo and Rotorua, our next stop.
Rotorua is situated on the edge of two lakes (roto = lake, rua = two in the indigenous Maori language), at least one of which is another caldera formed after a major eruption some thousand years ago. The earth’s crust is so thin in Rotorua that parts of the lakes beaches are steaming due the strong underground heat and hot-water springs. The city parks have public hot springs and hot mudpools that attract a lot of visitors. Nowadays, Rotorua is one of the most betravelled regions in New Zealand, due to the great outdoors in the area and the Thermal Wonderlands close by. It is also a very important region for Maori culture with several tribes living in the direct vicinity of the city. We visited the town of Tewhakarewarewatangaoteopetauaawahiao (don’t even try…) to get to know the culture a little better (as far as that is possible in a touristic tour around their village…).
My beautiful van then drove us north along the Pacific Coast to the best hostel I have ever stayed in my entire life (YHA in Opoutere). Amazing views, birds chirping, library with fireplace, tranquillity and great facilities for 13€ a night!!!
Too bad we didn’t have time to stay longer as the fare for the night includes unlimited cayak rentals for the day in the lagoon in front of the door. Before driving back to Auckland on “todays’” Tuesday, we wanted to see Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach which are both situated on the Coromandel Peninsula facing the Pacific Ocean. Cathedral Cove was a 45 minute hike from the parking lot on top of the steep rocky coast going up 80m (270ft) from the water. Secluded beaches, white sand and crystal clear blue water make the place very special and famous for snorkeling, seekayaking and just chilling (guess what we preferred after four exertive days…). Pictures of me snorkeling and kayaking in the Pacific Ocean have to wait for the next time I am out on the Coromandel
However, a day without sports is not a good day. After renting a spade to make our own hot water pool at Hot Water Beach to relax a little more, we decided to rent surfboards for an hour and enjoy the Pacific swell. With the tides running out and easterly winds blowing towards the beach, the waves would have been more fun windsurfing, but not on a surfboard. Most of the time, we were washed back to the beach in the white water; and finally, we gave up…. for the day
If you made it this far through the post, you will soon find yourself in New Zealand. There is no necessity to rent accomodation, we have a spare bed
Timméh
