Tongariro National Park: 6 Mar to 8 Mar

Tongariro. Beautiful. Haha, who would've thought I'd say that?

It's on the other side of Lake Taupo from Taupo. We stayed at National Park, which is a small village. Yet it boasts this amazing quality...

Ward street - yeah man!

We came to do the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, the "most famous" one day hike in New Zealand. When we got there, it was really cloudy. We were afraid we weren't going to be able to do it. But then it completely cleared around sunset, and we saw the mountains! They were amazing! On the ride in, we had no idea they were there. 

Mountains!

We were pretty excited to see the clouds disappear! And the mountains were awe-some!

Happy to see the mountains

It was cold. The morning of the 7th we got up and ate. 

A side note: all along we stopped at grocery stores. Most days we only ate pb and crackers, or something similar. Nutella! And nectarines! And muesli bars! About every other day we either cooked a real meal, or went to a restaurant. 

And something else of note: you don't tip in New Zealand, which helps out us poor college students! And at almost every place you order and pay at the bar, before you get your food. 

Anyways, we were all ready with our backpacks and granola bars and water. We got on the shuttle to take us to the mountain at 8am. 

Driving to the start

It was so sunny and beautiful. Tongariro has the only true alpine terrain in the north island. 

Still driving...

When we got to the drop off, we realized we were behind about 100 high school boys. Horray! But we were excited to start. It was very cold already. 

Woo hoo! It's about 12 miles

Now unfortunately, I had to hike in kapris. On the top half, however, I had two tanks, two tshirts, a sweatshirt, and a wind breaker. Oh, and best of all, I had a hat! It was my purse. Yes, my (personal) hand-knitted 100% wool purse. It actually worked very well as a hat, if you tucked the strap in. I let it fly in the wind like a perverse skull-protruding tail. 

(Unfortunately, sarcasm doesn't convey very well over text.)

Anyways, we hit the trail!

Starting out

It was amazingly gorgeous. I had a grin on my face the whole time! Or at least, I wanted to. The wind got so strong it was impossible to use facial expressions. They said it was 90 km/h winds, I think. All I know is I've never experienced wind like that. A few times I crouched down. It was especially terrifying on the top, next to sheer drops. I was afraid I was going to blow off the top!

The long trail behind us

This, as you can tell, is one of my favorite pictures. I think it's just amazing! Jen took it. 

Beautiful!

There were quite a few mountain streams for a while at the beginning. 

Up the trail

After the beautiful, sunny, strolling past mountain streams bit, we hit the stairs. Ay. That was where I realized I was quite unprepared! And where we really started experiencing the wind. 

All those stairs!

I kept stopping to slow down my heart. Luckily it was an amazing view. I said "oh my gosh, it's so beautiful" so many times that day it lost all meaning. The clouds were especially cool. 

The amazing rolling clouds

You could look up at them and see them moving so fast over the tops of the mountains. It was so awe-some. After the steepest part of the stairs, we went through South Crater. It was like the moon. 

South Crater

It was much less windy! Although it just got colder. Which I should mention - I lost all feeling in my legs way back. It was so cold. My knees were very red. After the worst of it, I realized my hands were so swollen and red. I couldn't extend them all the way at all, and they were very stiff. Gloves would have helped!

Almost to the top

As we worked our way to the highest point, we walked into a cloud. Everywhere around us, for a while, had been covered in the most peculiar ice. The dirt was covered in it, and you could brush it with your foot and it would all move together. 

There really wasn't much to see at the immediate top. It was 1886 m, a little more than 6000 ft. It was so gosh-darn windy! Getting down from that high point was quite scary. It was like a sand dune, only dirt and lots of wind and scary drops on either side. And really steep.

At the top looking down

Luckily, we got out of the cloud very quickly and from there could see so much! It was all volcanic landscape and it was so amazing! I kept thinking, "gee, this descent should be scaring the heck out of me! But it's so beautiful!" I told this repeatedly to Stephanie. I also told her that I didn't care if I fell and died, because it was a beautiful place to die. I was a bit slap-happy. Probably from that wind slapping me about. 

The beautiful volcanic views

At the bottom of the steepest part of the descent were the Emerald Lakes. They were so blue! They were also cold. I was hoping they would be warm from the geothermal steam. 

Emerald Lakes from higher up

It was a great place to get all that dirt out of my shoes. Unfortunately, my fingers forgot how to work, so it was difficult retying my shoes. 

Emerald Lakes

After the Emerald Lakes, we went through Central Crater. It gave me a chance to eat a One Square Meal bar, which really filled me up! And a chance to warm up my numb hands. As it turned out, they got much warmer! We got to the edge and started working our way down the mountain. This was absolutely beautiful. 

Down the mountain

It got lots warmer, the wind left (!), and the clouds were all back higher up. I was in love. 

Down

I started singing The Sound of Music in my head. It was so beautiful! After a while, more and more plants appeared. Flowers popped up. It was amazing.

Beautiful rocks

We wound our way down the side of the mountain. We could see Lake Taupo in front of us. 

Lake Taupo in distance

Really, these photos do it no justice at all. Something else they don't show is how painful it was. The constant down down down on your legs really hurt! My thighs were in pain. My ankle, that I had hurt back in Paihia from climbing on rocks in jandles (bad idea), really started to hurt. So I would stop every few feet and just admire the view. I let so many people pass me! 

So amazing!

Streams came out too, and it was paradise. A few times I sat in the path and just couldn't stop smiling. It was so pastoral. Then all of a sudden, without warning, we were in the jungle!

End of the hike

The last few km's were through the amazing trees. I would stop about every three trees and say "this tree is so cool!" If I had had my camera...you would have died of boredom now! 

Cool jungle part

It got really quiet, apart from the birds, and it smelled so good, and I was just at peace with the world! Then there was a waterfall. It was like a picture from a book. 

Waterfall near the end

I was half torn between "this is so beautiful I don't want it to end" and "my legs hurt so bad". I guess I was glad to come out and see 100 people sunbathing. It felt great to take off all those pesky layers and lay in the sun. It was a long hike. It took me from 8:30 am to about 3pm (although I sure stopped way more than I needed to to look at the trees and flowers). 

Part of the map of where we hiked

All-in-all, it was amazing. It was certainly hard, and quite scary at bits, but so beautiful it was completely worth it. I definitely recommend it. Luckily, we had great weather. It would have been very hard in rain or lots of clouds. 

New Zealand, you're beautiful. I love you. 

Taupo: 4 Mar to 6 Mar

In Taupo it rained. That's about it!

The ride there was beautiful! It was raining and cloudy, but it was so amazing, with all the greys and dark greens.  We went to look at the lake, but there wasn't much to see.

Lake Taupo

Supposedly mountains were back there (and it's true, because we hiked through them a few days later), but we couldn't see any. 

The 5th there was an iron man competition. We saw them biking, and then later in the day running. All in the rain. Really, all there was to do was eat. Which we did lots of. We went to the Pak 'n save quite a few times. 

Once, walking through the streets, about 20 vintage cars drove past, followed by a herd of motorcycles. It was weird. And about half the cars were "normal" ones, with the steering wheel on the left. 

Just some normal cars, since that's all I have a picture of (but I don't think many people read the captions anyways, so quite possibly they will be deceived)

I'm sure Taupo is a beautiful place, but we couldn't hike or anything, so it was kind of a downer. 

Entrance to the boat harbor

Lake Taupo

So go to Taupo some time...but make sure it's sunny! 

Super excited about the rain!

Rotorua: 2 Mar to 4 Mar

Rotorua. It rained when we first got there, but the 3rd was beautiful. We wanted to see the geothermal pools and the redwood trees, so a-tramping we went! It was all mostly flat, but we walked for a good 6 hours.

First we walked past Lake Rotorua.

Lake Rotorua, full of birds

Then we got up to the geothermal pools. They were very steamy and smelly, just like Yellowstone.

Geothermal pools

Then as we walked along past Lake Rotorua, there was a section called the Sulfur Bay. Definitely!

Along Lake Rotorua

We were busy taking pictures, and going along the water. After a while we realized we had somehow slipped past a boundary line; we weren't supposed to be there! Ah well, no one got hurt!

At the edge of the lake

The path we were taking started going through the woods for the longest time. I actually saw a few pukekos, one of New Zealand's most famous birds (though not endangered). Unfortunately, no pictures, but here's what they look like:

Pukeko! (image from the web)

I guess they are fairly common, so I hope I see some more!

Our walk finally took us to the redwood forest. We went on an hour and a half walk through the forest. 

Redwood forest

Redwood

In the visitor center, they had cutouts of some trees. I guess these trees grow much faster than the ones in California. After only 100 years, they are very big!

Hugging the redwood

The path started winding up through the woods. Suddenly we were in a fern forest! 

Ferns!

It got humid and just green everywhere. I love the giant ferns! They are all over here. The silver fern is the most famous. 

Giant ferns

Unfurling frond

I really just love the ferns. They are so big!

Holding a dead branch

All in all, it was a long hike, but it was really great! We saw so many different things in just one walk!

Walking through the bush

At the end of the day, we went and had a real dinner. It was Stephanie's birthday! I got a lamb burger, which was delicious. 

Lamb burger

We also went to a cool farmer's market they had at night. Rotorua was great!

Paihia: 27 Feb to 2 Mar

Bay of Islands

Paihia. In the far north of the North Island, in the Bay of Islands. It is a gorgeous, lazy-days town. The 27th we rode the bus up from Auckland. (We got a flexipass, which allowed us to travel on the bus systems in NZ, and is how we got around.) It was a beautiful drive. NZ is so beautiful! We stayed at a cute hostel, called Pepper Tree.

Pepper Tree hostel

Two nights we made dinner. It was fun in the kitchen with everyone else staying there. 

The 28th we went on a dolphin cruise. The islands are amazing!

On the boat

One of the islands

Dolphins!

One of the islands is informally called Hole in the Rock. 

Hole in the Rock

We were in a fairly large boat, and we managed to go through it! It was pretty sweet to watch the waves go into it. When the seas are high, the hole is completely covered with water!

We then had the option of stopping at an island for an hour, or getting a free ferry to Russell, the town across the bay from Paihia. I, naturally, chose the island! It was beyond amazing. The islands in the Bay of Islands are very mountainous. We stopped at Urupukapuka. There were many trails through it. I tramped up to the top in my jandles, which was a bad idea. But it was worth the sore feet! This was the first time I truly felt like I was in New Zealand. I was high up on this island that was covered in trees and sheep, and surrounded by deep blue water and other hilly islands. It was amazing. I took more than 100 pictures, so I suppose you should be glad you are spared them. But this is what a nearby peninsula looked like, right from the water:

Cape Brett Peninsula

It really was beyond pictures. Looking at them afterwards, I didn't think they did the beauty justice, so you'll just have to go yourself!

Later that day we went on a hike. It went along the beach for a while, and then through the bush next to the water. 

The cool rocks on the shore

On the way we saw these enormous bamboo trees.

Giant bamboo

Every glance you took, basically, was beautiful. 

Resting from the hike

The next day, the 1st, was a true beach day. We started out kayaking (had some trouble...), and then spent the rest of the day laying around on the beach. I already had a really bad sunburn from the previous days, so I tried to stay out of the sun. My feet look hilarious, along with my watch tan. My shoulders got very burnt too. But I was burnt from being in NZ, so I didn't really care :)  I did go swimming in the Pacific though. It was very refreshing, not at all cold (or warm, really). I got tons of salt in my mouth. It was great!

Pre sunburn

Paihia was a much needed vacation from our vacation from our vacation. 

The beach

(Paihia was the vacation from our vacation to the north island, which was our vacation from our vacation to New Zealand. Yay!)

Auckland: 25 Feb to 27 Feb

So before I start any of this, I should say something...my camera is no more. It is at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. We were kayaking...that's all I should say. Thankfully, my friends let me use their pictures! So all of the pictures you see of the north island were taken by Callie, Stephanie, or Jen. Thanks guys!

Auckland, at the harbor

Flying to Auckland was weird. We actually stopped in Wellington, so it was two short flights. We got into the city around 1am and stayed at this hostel called Nomad's Fat Camel. It was interesting! Saturday the 26th we woke up and explored the city.

Auckland is New Zealand's largest city, located in the north of the north island. It is a big city full of people! We walked down to the harbor and saw all the boats. 

Auckland's harbor

We then stopped at a farmers market and bought some delicious falafels. 

We also stopped at a cafe and I got my first flat white! I was excited to have one ever since the guys in Switchfoot said how much they love them. It is milk and espresso, similar to a latte but tastes different. All their coffee tastes better!

We went up to the top of the Sky Tower. It's more than 1000 steps! We took the elevator. Just thinking about climbing the stairs reminded me of Indy. 

The Sky Tower

Looking down from the top

You could see remarkably far! It was a beautiful day, so we could see mountains and the ocean and the city. It was very weird to look down through the glass windows in the floor.

View from the top

We then went to a wonderful garden right near the tower. I was in awe of the trees and birds and spent lots of time chasing them around and taking pictures. I hope the fish in Paihia appreciate them :(

One of the sweet trees in the park

It was also really nice to lay in the grass and the sun...it was about 75 F that day. Nice and warm! We walked around the city more and saw lots of things. Many people were very supportive of CHCH, and had donations. 

Busking for CHCH!

Auckland's a pretty cool city. 

The Actual Journey

I am back from the North Island! I will say it about a million times I'm sure, but it's so beautiful! Before I update about it, I guess I should finish the journey here.

To recap: we got stuck in LA because we missed our connecting flight because of a snow storm in Detroit. The next day we toured LA, because what else is there to do for 24 hours?

Me, Jen, Callie, and Stephanie (photo from Callie)

That night, as we were sitting in LAX eating our Burger King (yum!), we heard about the earthquake in Christchurch. We didn't know the scope of it yet, not really. But we would have been landing just as it happened, so we were incredibly thankful we got delayed!

At midnight, we got on the plane to fly to Brisbane, Australia. It was a loooong flight. About 15 hours I think. Luckily we had a large collection of movies for our viewing pleasure!

Details of our flight from my screen

It was the biggest plane I had ever been on. There were nine seats across the plane, with two aisles. But my favorite part was the Aussies. They are so funny. The safety briefing was hilarious. Every little thing we got, from the headphones, to the blanket, to the sugar, had something funny written on it. And I found this especially funny:

The V Australia puke bag

When we finally landed, it was a day and a half later. For a while we thought we weren't going to be able to get to Christchurch, because they were only letting in residents. But since we were living in Lincoln, they let us on the flight.

So we had 10 hours to hang at the Brisbane airport. This was the nicest airport of the lot that I ended up seeing. It was open and friendly. Best of all, there were plenty of couches in remote areas so we got to take naps!

BNE airport

I looked pretty gross after being in the same clothes for so long, including two nights sleeping. 

All I can say is whenever you are flying across the Pacific, pack a change of clothes in your carry on! At least I had toiletries though. 

We did see a cool rainbow outside, and some pretty sweet clouds. We went photo crazy, and more than a few people laughed at us, but what can you do?

We boarded our third flight about an hour after we were supposed to (typical of our trip). Halfway through the flight I woke up and saw thousands of stars outside! I first noticed Orion, and then could see so many. The southern stars are so different from the northern hemisphere! 

When we finally made it to CHCH, there was someone waiting from Lincoln to pick us up. The van happened to be parked near our plane from earlier:

Last plane and first sight of NZ!

We were all amused to see that they do indeed drive on the left and have the steering wheel on the right side of the car. I finally made it to my tiny dorm room around 3am Thursday morning. I technically started traveling Saturday at 3pm. Long trip! 

In the morning I organized much of my stuff. I gathering quite the baggage tag!

My many-times-wrapped baggage tags

It was good to finally be at Lincoln. So it was with some surprise that I found out the classes would be delayed for two weeks. Friday night, after less than two days here, I found myself in the airport again, to fly to Auckland! 

I've seen my share of airports! And just if you're curious, security in Aus and NZ is so much less insane than the US. There's no taking off of shoes, or jackets, or going through a see-through metal detector. I even had water in my water bottle somewhere, and they were cool about it. They checked it for me, and let me have it. In the US I probably would have been arrested or something. At least body searched. Everyone over here is incredibly nice and helpful. I seriously haven't met a single kiwi that was unkind. 

I think they are all happy because it's so beautiful all the time.