Category: New Zealand

Where it turned out we couldn’t handle a longer than normal stay in one spot …

We designed our 6 months in New Zealand to have the three middle months in the South Island, with one and a half on each end in the North, so that meant early December was the time to cross over and start our Southern odyssey.  And of course our plan is to start right at the top and work our way down and then back up. 

When you look at a map of the SI, you see a deep vee in the middle of the top, with the Marlborough Sounds in the upper right, which is where the ferry arrives on a westward course from the NI, and a whole lot of green in the upper left, which is predominantly national parks.  We’ll be exploring all these regions (although not all of the goodness in each region) over the next two weeks, but we’re starting right down in the middle of that vee in the town of Nelson.

A short, windy week in Welly

Wellington is at the southeastern tip of the North Island and, located by the Cook Straight, is the world’s windiest city by average wind speed.  It is the capital of New Zealand and, with just over 400,000 residents, the second most populated city.  Everyone has been telling us that it is more like a town than a city and that we will like it better than sophisticated Auckland.  With its coffee culture, museums, prime location, access to great walks, beaches and kiting, we have been looking forward to this week. 

A delicious week of wineries, stone fruit, biking, kayaking … with the bonus of puppy love

Hawke’s Bay is a large semi-circular bay on the east coast of the North Island that extends for 100 kilometers from Mahia Peninsula in the northeast to Cape Kidnappers in the southwest.  The main and best known city (and where we stayed) is Napier, but close by are sister cities of Hastings and Havelock North, all relatively flat cities with hills rising up in the surrounds.  There are rivers and estuaries and loads of orchards, farmlands and vineyards, making it one of the nation’s largest producers of apples and wine.  The region has a significant Māori population.  It’s not a dramatic region in terms of scenery, but rather a very pleasant and easily approached type of beauty.

Hiking the mighty Mt Taranaki and exploring its ring of surf beaches and cliff lined shores

The majestic andesitic volcano Mt Taranaki (2518 m) is the central point of the Taranaki Peninsula, which is stunning just viewed on a regular map let alone a topographic one, but much better yet in person.  Its near perfect cone is snowcapped, rocky near the peak, cloaked in fairy forests and streams on its upper slopes, which give way to green, green rolling pastures and then black volcanic sand beaches around the entire perimeter. 

Experiencing the ring of fire up close on a caldera lake, volcanic peaks and thermal wonders

Lake Taupo is right in the center of the North Island. You can’t miss seeing it if you look at a map as it’s the largest lake in New Zealand.  They call it the great lake, and while big with a surface area of 616 square kms, it has nothing on the great lakes in the US. 

What it does have is an astounding history and awe-inspiring surrounds.  It was created by a supervolcanic eruption which occurred approximately 26,500 years ago. This was the world’s largest known eruption over the past 70,000 years, ejecting 1170 cubic kms of material and causing several hundred square kms of surrounding land to collapse and form the caldera. 

A brilliant week of beaches, dunes and harbors at the top of this incredible country

Doubtless Bay is situated on the east coast of the Northland Region, extending from the Karikari Peninsula in the north to Hihi in the south, and filled with rocky headlands and extensive beaches, including Coopers Beach and its small town where we are staying this week. 

We chose it for the ease of walking to the beach (5 minutes) or into town (3 minutes) and also for its easy access to Cape Reinga, the wonders of the tip top of NZ and the kiting paradise of the KariKari, which has coasts for every wind direction.  And bonus, Coopers is beautiful in its own right, although seems crowded and hectic (with its massive population of 1600 in the whole Bay area!) compared to our oasis the week before.

A perfect first week indulging in our new way of life

We knew our first week in Auckland would be hectic so had booked our second week at a remote cottage on a peaceful bay in an area of quiet hamlets.  And that turned out to be ideal for us in every way.  We had a delightful week relaxing, exploring, soaking up the beauty of this part of New Zealand and grinning at each other countless times a day asking “is this really our life now?” 

Whangarei (pronounced Fangeraa) is the only “large city” (50k people) in Northland (the area north of Auckland) but we were out on the Whangarei Heads peninsula which is very rural with a mix of rolling hills of pastures (sheep, cows and even alpaca), small fishing towns, towering volcanic rock formations, empty beaches and a series of bays and coves dotted with anchored fishing and sailing boats. 

Just another work week

Auckland didn’t have a great week during our time there.  First a gale, then a terrible fire on the roof of the under construction $700M convention center that burned for days and shut down parts of the city for firefighting crews and due to toxic smoke, and then the final injury – a loss to England in the Rugby World Cup Semi-Finals.  We, however, had a wonderful and productive week.  (Be forewarned though – not a very adventure filled one, so this will be a pretty boring post.)

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