I know it’s been quite a while since my last entry, but I do have a few good adventures to tell about. Basically I had been wanting to blog since Saturday, but Jeff wanted to write about our climb to Pinnacle, but because he never did, I will.
So to catch up since the caves and waterfalls… On our drive to the Coromandel Peninsula, we saw some pink sheep on the side of the road, which was definitely something I’d assume most people have never seen. The drive was about 5 hours and we set up camp in Coromandel National Forest. In most of the national forests there are extensive hiking trails that are mapped out and timed, and Coromandel had one called the Pinnacle, 3 hrs. We weren’t sure if it meant 3 hours or 6 hours roundtrip but we hadn’t hiked yet, so we embarked hoping for the best. (Side note: The night before we had been taking tons of picture of this flat faced rock on the tip of the mountain because we thought it was so beautiful.) As we begin to follow the trail we quickly come to realize that it is 3 hours both ways, but we decide to tough it out and see what all the hype is about. We were even drinking water right out of the stream! About 3 hours in, not too far from the top, but with no spectacular view in sight, we see a sign which basically tells us that the pinnacle huts are 3 hours in but the view from the Pinnacle is still 30 minutes away (and about a bazillion steps).
For everyone else (except maybe bethy) it was pretty easy until the last ten minutes, where it was a somewhat vertical climb up the rocks (with the help of metal ladder-like steps), but once we got to the top we knew the walk was worth it. You could see the sea on one side and rolling mountains and streams on the other. It was probably the most physically challenging thing I’ve ever done (well up until our adventure Monday, but I’ll get there). Personally, I would probably do it again (after a few days to recoup), but bring along a lot more food J. The hike took 6 hours and 20 minutes total and we climbed up to an altitude of 750 metres.
That night we all needed a little R & R, so we chipped in for a motel. The Anchor Lodge was clean, with hot running water, and they even left the hot tub on an extra 30 minutes so we could unwind from our hike. Bethy and I hoped we would never have to return to a tent again (yeaha right). After showering for the first time in what seemed like forever, but more accurately was about 4 days, we found a pub in the tiny town and watched the All Blacks beat Argentina in the Rugby World Cup. (Side note: the All Blacks sponsor everything here from electronics to food products, to hygiene products). Hesitantly we left Coromandel town and drove a breathtaking coastal highway to the east side of the peninsula to see Cathedral Cove and Hot Water Beach.
Cathedral Cove was a beautiful arch formed in sand stone from the waves crashing into it. It was featured in the Prince Caspian movie (fun fact!!). We didn’t stay long because the tide was quickly rising, but were sure to snap tons of pictures. It was about a 5 minute drive to Hot Water Beach, where the geothermal activity under the sand allow you to dig a sand pit which fills with hot water. Because of our poor timing, and the cold, rainy weather, the tide was too high to get to the hot spots, but there are many more geothermal spots to see in New Zealand. (See Rotorura later in the post).
As I mentioned before, it was very cold and rainy, so Bethy and I were able to talk the boys into another motel night, but this time we stayed in Waitomo, a bit south of Auckland, so that Jeff and I could do black water rafting in the morning. This was by far my favorite, most unique experience. We paid about $175USD ($220NZD) to do the Black Water Rafting Company’s 5 hour Black Abyss tour. It was worth every penny! We got all geared up starting with our bathing suits and then layers of wet suit and a helmet/lamp combo. We began the adventure by practicing using the abseiling gear, then quickly abseiled down a 105 foot drop into a cave. When everyone reached the bottom, a rock fell and hit one of our guides, Lucas, on the collar bone and he had to be lifted from the cave to get it checked out. Luckily we had a doctor in our group! We had to wait quite a bit for them to lift him out of the cave and replace the missing guide, but they provided us with hot chocolate and cookies they brought in their duffel. When everything was straightened out we climbed through the dark caves a bit until we reached the “Flying Fox” which was a short zip line. This took us to the edge of the cold cave water. We were instructed to grab a tube and jump on it. This was the part I was scared of the most because the water was only 10 degrees C/50 degrees F!! I never really adjusted to the water, but I was still able to enjoy the glow worms sparkling from the ceilings of the cave. Our guide explained that the shiny stuff is really glowworm poop and that glowworms are basically a type of maggot. So romantic. Once we got to parts of the cave with little room to float, we abandoned the tubes and swam/walked/crawled through the cave for about an hour until we got to a crossroads. We were given hot Tang (which tasted amazing btw) and chocolate and then we were told we could either go the tranquil way or climb up the “Twin Falls of Doom”. Of course the tranquil route was quickly established to be the wussy way and we climbed up 3 water falls (despite the “twin” name). The water falls were each about 10-15 feet, which was more difficult that it sounds to due to ice rushing water working very hard against you. About 3.5 hours and a few waterfall climbs under our belt, Jeff and I emerge from the cave into the Waitomo forest. They gave us soup and bagels and our guide even authorized everyone to get a free picture CD because we had to wait so long to fix up Lucas. That quickly became the most physically challenging adventure I have ever been on, and hands down my favorite.
That night, after google led us in the wrong direction for quite a while out of the way, we camped in the rain/cold at the Piropiro camp in Pureaora Forest Park. It was about as fun as it sounds. We woke up early to light struggling to get through the continuing rain and clouds and headed to Rotarura (somewhat central North Island). Rotarura is best known for its strong smell of sulfur everywhere you go due to the intense geothermal activity under the ground. We walked around a bit in the rain and visited the park where you can see hot ponds bubbling from carbon dioxide being released from the ground. We also found a naturally heated pool to soak our feet. It was beautiful there but quite smelly.
The rain chased us out of Rotorura but followed us to lake Tuapo, New Zealand’s largest lake (quite similar to Lake Tahoe). Our first stop was Huka falls, which h was this amazing bright blue colored, rapidly moving, river. It provides 15% of New Zealand’s energy. Even though it was still raining, we decided that it was a wise financial choice to try to camp. After following our Department of Conservation campsite guide directions for about an hour, we gave up and found a motel. Turns out us girls are much better at getting a cheap rate in a motel than the boys.
The next morning (yesterday) we drove to Tongariro (about an hour south of Tuapo) to the snow capped mountains (volcanos). Here we did a 2 hour hike to see a water fall and some volcanic landscape. The boys and Bethy really wanted to do this 8 hour hike to Mt. Doom (which apparently is featured in LOTR), but the weather conditions are too poor and icy to safely complete it. We set up camp close by in the rain and cold, and cooked some dinner, but it was only 5 pm at that point, and Bethy and I were able to talk the boys into going into town for a pint by a fire for a while. It was the wettest, coldest night camping so far. So cold that Bethy and I decided to skip skiing this afternoon because we haven’t thawed yet. This afternoon will be the girl’s first experience driving while the boys are skiing. Wish us luck!
Ps. I miss all of my friends and family very much! I have frequent dreams of being home, and although I am far from “homesick”, I am a tad “friendsick”. Love you all.
Cheers!
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