[Disclaimer: This post is still a draft, but I just wanted to get it out there! You will find some more note-like texts towards the end.. I will make sure to turn it into an actual story "eventually"]

Introduction

December 4, 2016

So when I started writing this post it was somewhere last week at Mark & Margot's place (Roseville), where we spent the first week of our trip. We had been enjoying fruity breakfast sessions with Margot, Ruud and Getty (who were also over in Sydney for their holiday), made a cool trip with the two of us during the day, and crushed at around 21:00 due to our jet lags.

I learned that this schedule isn't perfect when trying to write a blog on your adventures so far. So here I am, currently at Mt. Cook National Park, finally taking the time to write about our adventures!

It is not that my jetlag is over now: yesterday we hit the road with our spaceship Trinity, and Sanne and I just had to switch seats after an hour because I needed some extra sleep.

So, what have we been up to in these first eight days of travel? For the short (Dutch) version check out Polarsteps! For the more elaborate Lars' style of writing stories rather than two-sentence posts, hang on tight :).

Day 0

So after our long, Star Wars filled, flight we arrived in Sydney. I will not count arrival day as day 1, as it already was 23:00 local time, but I didn't want to skip this part... (and starting from 0 seems appropriate for a software engineer).

So we arrived and Margot planned to pick us up. Sanne already sent her a text from Dubai, like she asked us to do, so our eyes were gazing as we entered the arrivals zone. As she wasn't there, we walked toward the P9 parking lot where she would pick us up. As I hadn't met her before, Sanne showed me a picture so I knew who we were looking for. After some minutes, there she was! I recognized her immediately, but somehow she stayed in her car. Sanne went over to take a closer look, and it wasn't until she was right in front of the car that Margot recognized her. Turns out, Ruud and Getty got into the arrivals hall right after we left for P9. All due to Margot not receiving Sanne's message because we got the wrong number! (two digits were switched, which we didn't find out until the day before we left Sydney again). After a sneak in the back of Ruud and Getty in the deserted arrival hall, we went to our "home" for the week, where we ended up watching Max Verstappen until 2:00 before going to bed.

Day 1

The next morning (and every morning after), we were welcomed in the garden with a fruit, cereal and yoghurt breakfast. Today we were heading for downtown Sydney! Ruud and Getty joined us, leaving from Lindfield station to Circular Quay. From there a range of ferries depart to various destinations. Basically, these are part of the transit system. Awesome! From here we parted ways and walked down to the Opera House, Botanic garden and further down south checking out downtown. Besides all the tourist highlights, the funniest thing for us was seeing the Christmas trees and balls just melting away in the 30°C sun.

So after our round downtown, a quick peek at the observatory and a walk on the Sydney Harbor Bridge, we headed back to our luxury stay in Roseville

Day 2 (#StripeTuesday)

Staying at relatives comes with some cool perks: besides the good sinners and wine, Ruud and Getty already did some exploring to the Blue Mountains for us. Plus, there was a car we could use for the trips! So after some do's (drive left) and don'ts (drive right), we left for BM right away (pun intended). We drive to echo point, overlooking a tree filled valley. After filling up to meter for 3 hours and a quick lunch, we took a look at the Three Sisters and started making our way for some cascades. Pro tip: you can make your way down the valley without the expensive lifts. They just don't mention this anywhere, probably for the money. So finding out during the walk, we started making our way down. However, since we only had a limited amount of time on the meter and we were warned for the fines, after some nice viewpoints we headed back up to catch the bus back to echo point.

Matching clothes

Somehow, Sanne and I tend to war the same kind of clothes... No, not that I am wearing any skirts or dresses, but we often end up wearing the same combination of colors. We often find out when we arrive at our destination, or (now that we become more aware) when we are about to leave our home. The latter always coming hand in hand with the usual jokes. This holiday it already happened twice: first we were at the Blue Mountains buying a sandwich, and the girl at the cashier asked me:

"So did you match the striped shirts on purpose?"

"Oh shit, yeah, that happens to us more often..."

And just now as I am writing this, we are each others perfect blue/black inverse versions. It is not like Sanne buys this stuff for me or anything... [ADD PICTURE]

Day 3

Learning about the ferries on our first day in Sydney, we just had to take one! Manly Beach it was! [tourist shops]? Walked all the way down the beach hoping to find some food (lots of surfers including an arriving school bus), nothin there, made a lame round-trip to the start of the touristy area. Saw cool houses and surf chicks though. Great lunch with a Manly pint, took back the boat for a trip in the Rocks. Had more manly beers and pig.

Day 4

Coogee (not Gucci). Awesome pizza in hipster bar. Cool walk along the shore with a breeze. Swimming people, parrots, dive at Bondi Beach. Rain, beers and taco. Bought Oyster bubbles for M&M. Graveyard detour because of storm, people we don't know.

Day 5

Left at 6 to train for NZ! M breakfast for M. Mechanic and NFL. Rainy, cold Christchurch (shit). Found the bus into the "city" (low buildings, remote neighborhood). Hostel reminded me of our backpack adventure in Ecuador (old bed, pics on the wall). ??? to city center. Still remains from earthquake (year?). Collapsed church, mix of old and new buildings. Pop-up food, amazing Pad Thai. Botanic gardens with giant Christmas balls. In search for new FB profile pic. Met up with S/C and Jasmijn (tips and leftovers). Tram.

Day 6

Bus to spaceship: Trinity! Went to Pacman Macpac, environment aware (will use at work). Found out there's more to Christchurch than city center. Groceries at Pak 'n Safe. Didn't do a good job first days, needed to lower our standards. Same herbs in every meal, expensive here (minced beef ~7 AUSD for 500 gr). (Thanks for metric system btw, add to glow worm caves about the Americans who didn't know what a meter is). Quick visit back at Spaceship for damage report print. Hit the road, all 1 lane with opposing traffic, however, no traffic at all! Max 100 km/h, some braking at corners. Typical: everything you see is amazing/beautiful. 5 km further it is even better, more pictures. This went on until Lake Tekapo, numerous blue lakes. Found free campground, getting used to setting up camp, fist night was very 'down hill'. Missing head torchlight for toilet, started reading GoT again (although I get confused with LOTR here).

Day 7

Time for some real actions: heading for Mt. Cook! On our way there we picked up sashimi style salmon at lake Tekapo, salmon farm in the rivers coming from the lake. Went into Mt. Cook town first, Sanne loves visitor centers. Read Climber stories (my dad would love them) and saw the weather forecast: good, although there still was snow up the mountain towards the Mueller hut we booked for the night after. For now we stayed in the campsite (Sunny, but windy). Walked towards Hooker Valley (nothing like Amsterdam's "Wallen"). Three hanging bridges, many more to follow during our hikes. Used to be afraid of heights, Sanne likes to make fun of me when I'm on them, referring t 2014 Ecuador trip [ADD PIC]. Hike wasn't too hard, lots of people. Nice view at the lake though! Snowy mountains, huge open canyon toward lake Tekapo. Rocks of ice floating in the lake. Back at van we had our brilliant sashimi snack (took extra from Tekapo next day). Campings are generally with a "long drop", often with drinkable water, as a bonus with flushable toilets, and more expensive ones with shower and BBQ (brilliant). laundry at the holiday park kinda places (use Campermate). Pay fee in cash, make sure you have change.[ADD GPS TRACKS]

Day 8

This morning we went up the Sealy Tarns Track and further towards the hut. Supposed to stay there for the night, but we were advised to cancel (and get refund) because of the snow on the track. Should normally be gone early December, but can also be there until after Christmas. Without experience hiking with crampons and pick, we decided not to go but hike towards the snow in stead, +- 900m ascend). First part (Sealy Tarns) is steps, then follow flags climbing up the rocks. Met the warden of the hut. Had the same accent as the BFG I had seen in the airplane. They have a schedule where a warden (reminds me of GoT) stays at the hut for a week, then be replaces. Saw new warden on way down, guy from Christchurch, probably volunteer. Tried the snow, thicker than I had thought (stubborn me would've gone). View again amazing. Burned hand where I wore my watch. Sore muscles for the next two days. Steps down was hard on the calves.

Took a shower (2 dollar) at the town, headed for more salmon, then camped at a way too windy place (almost ruined the pasta) at Bendigo. Again, nice lakes though!

Day 9

Queenstown, searching for parking, ticket later. Fernburger (breakfast): I think it was actually the best burger I've ever had. Stroll at the lake, coffee, Pacmac to take the next step in becoming a "burger"/grown-up: buying a head flashlight. Toilet visits at night haven't been the same since. Groceries, stupid lady, headed for Te Anau! Plan your petrol use from here on.

Great lake view, had coffee and visited some information center. Headed for Milford Sound. Open green fields with lakes and rivers along the way (canyon style). Mirror lakes was one of the stops we did to take some pictures. encountered sandflies for the first time [INSTERT RANT].

Road became more "hilly" and wet after passing Cascade Creek. Things really became interesting on approaching the Homer tunnel: walls with snow/ice on them, a bit like the wall in the north from GoT. Bridge is one-way, so there was a timer on there stating when it was our turn. Went out for some pictures, car was taken over by keas (really arrogant birds). With my dislike for animals, some trouble with getting back into the car. Had a drive for the bay, completely different on other side of the tunnel. Felt like entering Narnia. Campground at the end of the road was full, as we expected. Do make a reservation! Oh, and no cell phone reception anywhere in Milford, so be prepared.

Took a look in the Cloudy bay, 200 days a year rain. But as they say in NZ:

"Rain is just waterfalls in the making"

And that's why you would visit Milford anyway. We later heard that it was completely clear that same morning. Went back up to Gunn's camp. Local who created a fun campground with jokes all around. Busy common area, cooked our meal and went for bed, had been a long day. Camping was besides the river, wood-oven warmed showers, lays down a bumpy road from the main road.

Day 10

Explored Milford! Today was the day for some hiking in Milford! We came well prepared with our waterproof gear and had bought the much needed power bars and water tanks. We did some planning in advance, because we didn't want to go down/up he same roads again (like we already had to for our boat ride). Started easy at the Thumboldt Falls, just down the road from Gunn's camp. Nothing special, don't go don the road here just for these. Way up we knew there were some glowworm caves. Couldn't find them, but stumbled upon another route along the way, passing a hangbrug. Wasn't on the maps, but it was a fun climb in the rain, avoiding pools and mud. As we had no idea how long it would continue, we returned after half an hour (also because of boat ride). Added the location to CamperMate. After this, went straight for the bay to catch an early afternoon boat ride with Discovery (ofzo). Smaller boat, less people, awesome tour guide (droge humor, ondanks al het water). Showed us around the Fjord, explaining the layered/colored rocks (metals), vegetation cycle, various waterfalls. Two "volunteers" got to fill a tray of glasses so we could all drink some (and become 10 years younger). At biggest waterfall (155 m?) we all got to dive in (or he wouldn't get paid). Ended up at aquarium thing where, for me as an engineer, the most interesting thing was how they had built the facility.

Went up the road again, visiting the smaller highlights along the way: Chasm (areal view of MS). Then we did the hike to lake Marian, fun climb with a rewarding results: hanging valley, lake with reflection, pretty late so almost last ones there. Headed to Cascade Creek, dinner with croque monsieur and soup.

Day 11

Key Summit! Departing from the Routeburn Track (no, the Divide), started making our way up. Planned to do the key Summit and Lake Howden. After +/- 1 hour we reached the crossing for the two destinations, key first. Zig-zag way up, where you could already enjoy the view on the forest surmounted(?) by peaks below. Once at the top, there is a swamp style plateau with various kinds of vegetation. At the start of the round trip layed out for you, there is a post with leaflets on the sights there. Small pools on top, fleas eating plants, but the highlight: a view on lake Marian (which we visited the day before). From here you could actually see what a "hanging valley" is. After completing the round, hurried by the Routeburn Track kickers/hikers(?) in full gear, headed down again.

Back at the crossing, some hikers advised us to walk an hour further from Lake Howden to see a nice waterfall (Earland falls). So we did! To lake Howden was only 15 mins longer, nice facilities and view on the lake. Eaten by sandflies though. Also, heard that some camps required you to sleep in 4 person beds (people earlier complained about snoring). Carrying on through rainforest style path, numerous small waterfalls, but were told we "would recognize it when we got there". And so we did: splashes of water came from around the corner, were getting our raincoats when someone came all soaked from the waterfall. Didn't want to rain contents of our backpack so took turns. Sanne cooling down with splashes in her face, me getting soaked pants trying to get a picture. Apparently higher than the ones we had seen in the Sound. Headed back, washed of our shoes (dydimo something) and headed for Te Anau. Holiday park camping, washed, bathed, BBQ (lamb). Pictures of Te Anau lake on our way there.

Day 12

Te Anau glow worm caves. Boat there, hard winds. Headed down the cave in smaller groups. 1 meter high entrance ("what is a meter?"). Darker deeper in the cave, saw an eel, boat ride, numerous glow-in-the-dark style slimy cannibal worms. Purpose of living? No idea, once they become a fly, live 1-2 days, male no mouths, female die after laying eggs. They fish and glow for food. Cool videos, but not worth $80,-.

Took of, headed for Wanaka. Groceries in Queenstown. Had our TGIF drinks and food at the Wanaka lake. Dutch waitress, was awesome food (Urban grind?). We left a $5,- tip, overjoyed (tips are not usual here, joohoo Dutchie!(?)) Slept at Albert Town.

Day 13 (Fish 'n Chips!)

With our ride to Wanaka we were halfway towards our goal: the Fox and Franz Josef glaciers on the west coast. Had to go via Haast Pass, which is funny because my stuffed animal back in the day was called Haast (from Haas, rabbit in Dutch, couldn't pronounce).

Nice mountain roads, more lakes and waterfalls. Took the exit for Jackson Bay, visiting the Cray Pot for fish 'n chips. Was a 45 min one-way detour, but this small business is worth it! In the non-summer months, you should be able to spot penguins crossing the road there as well, and you can do some hikes. We enjoyed the lunch, the views and left again.

Driving towards Fox glacier: more clouds the closer we got. Not much to do here, expensive petrol (filled up only half), but warm showers and awesome BBQ meal.

Day 14 (Clouds)

Lake Matheson: cool views when there was no wind. Can see Mt. Cook from there as well. We did the walk around the lake, which artists love. Took nice photos and headed for Fox glacier (visit the lake early morning or afternoon). Fox was pretty disappointing. Working on the path to improve safety, could only see it from ~1km from the ice. Plus, bad weather, leaving us with gray skies, grey [note sa: grey/gray in 1 zin tegelijk :p] rocks and some ice far away. Oh, we have to admit we were pretty spoiled from Mt. Cook and Milford and had probably seen enough water in all its forms.

Headed for Franz Josef, more beautiful, bigger, more paths to follow, but still couldn't get to the ice. Lots of choppers. Prices were high and from what we saw we were glad we didn't take one: they would only stay at the lower parts and then head back (could be wrong).

Went into town looking for pools. Disappointing, $50,- pp and 3 small baths. Decided to head for Punakaiki. There, the weather wasn't good either, but we got to see a highlight that excited us more: the Pancake rocks! (and blowholes). Watch at high tide. Was windy, waves did their work. Were told to come at dawn, so we went for a snack at the restaurant next to visitor center, went back around 21:00. Cloudy, but nice rays of sun through the clouds. With wind increasing and lightning to be seen at the horizon, the waves were more violent, giving larger splashes and more fun!

Day 15

Let at 10am (latest time allowed at most campsites) and parked our car at the other side of the road. From there, we started a three hour hike into rainforest style woods. (Paparoa NP) Felt like dinosaurs could be found around every corner, real Jurassic Park style woods, overhanging mountains on either side of the valley and a dark brown river that guided us. Went on for an hour until a bridge crossing it, which led further into the NP. We headed back, making a loop that passed the pancake rocks again (Pororari River Track). Had an awesome burger lunch and headed for Tasman (just south of Motueka). Beautiful and cheap ($5pp) campground next to the sea. Lovely caretakers, in for a chat. Watched a cool sunset, sun disappeared behind us out of sight, but it lit the various mountains, towns and clouds next to the calm waters. Finished with a good version of Bolognese.

Day 16

We were in for a non-activities relax day; that's why we headed North anyway, so we could have it with better weather. The day started good, reading, KoToR and sun! Around noon we headed north for the secret beach at Kaiteriteri, doing groceries for our Abel Tasman adventure on the way. Awesome, quiet beach. Mussels on the rocks and even spotted a, what we though, was a penguin. More reading and getting up to speed with this blog at the beach, and then headed for Marahau from where we would go on the kayak trip next morning. We stayed at the Barn, a neat place with up-to-date facilities. Also, the entrance to Abel Tasman NP was right around the corner. At the entrance was also a bar where we had a pint and cocktail, before heading back and BBQ our salmon. Delicious!

Day 17 (Kayaking day!)

We had to be at ATK at 8:30 for our safety instructions. The trip would be a "Freedom" (and walk North) one, so there would be no one guiding (and rescuing) us. As there are no facilities other than toilets and sinks (and cooking area/shelter) in AT, we had to bring cooking gear and our sleeping bags. Tent and mattresses we hired from ATK. So after filling out some forms (responsibilities etc. etc.) and loading up the kayak, we were instructed on take-off and landing procedures, as well as the "flip your boat and get back in" emergency moves. After this, we were joined to the water to do some procedures on the water, before heading out.

ATK: not clear what we booked, under informed on practical stuff. We headed for a beach not to far from our starting position; sanitary break, plus fun to do another landing and take-off. The goal of the day was Anchorage, where we would set-up camp. This didn't look too far and I was disappointed at first that we wouldn't be doing any more kayaking. Also, we had to be there at 15:00, with the kayak being picked up at 15:30 (it was already past 10 before we were underway). However, kayaking isn't as fast as rowing (with which I'm more familiar), and the distance together with rough sea was ok.

We headed for Alice island, popular for the seals there. And yes, we enjoyed the same show! Needed to keep a 20m distance, but enough action to be seen. From there we started making our way to Anchorage. [INSERT STORY on the left on distance]. Just before the corner, the sea was very rough and windy, tough paddling which we felt two days later (sore muscle). Also rocks, cool. Day after, weather was far worse, lucky with the sunny day we had. Saw a penguin on open sea! Arrived, made another perfect landing, and set-up camp under a tree for some shadow in the morning. (camp booking is checked). Relaxed on the beach, cooked soup and croix monsieur (croix Lars, really? ga je schamen) (only one pan needed). Forgot soap to do the dishes. More reading. Kayaking: afraid to take pictures on the water, photos not synced with iCloud.

Day 18

Today was our "walk North" part of our AT trip. Fit all stuff in our backpacks (cooking gear was not handy at all, buy appropriate equipment for longer trips), broken down tent and left at beach for ATK to pick it up. First heading for Torrent Bay, can be done in 30 minutes from Anchorage with low tide, but it was soon to be high tide, which forces you to do a route through the woods, totaling 2+ hours. Ok with us, didn't bother standing up early and we would only be picked up at 15:30. Nice route along clear lakes on sandy path in rainforest (lots of ferns). Also bridges, rivers. Did some extra steps for Cleopatra's pools (10 + 10 mins), was ok. Big rocks, pool with a slide style (sideways) waterfall. Finally made our way to Torrent Bay, astonishing to see where the 30 mins walk would normally be: in the middle of what was now a lake. Had a small lunch (were on a strict diet due to limited supply) and headed for Bark Bay for our pick-up. Oh, before Torrent Bay, path overrun with water, carried Sanne over. More of the same: cool views on various lakes and bays, nice hanging bridge. Arrived at Bark 45 mins early (was another 2 hour walk). Boat registration was wrong - sigh - got on another boat, really bouncy sea, ended at Marahau "drove" just straight onto a trailer and were driven into town (still in boat) behind a tractor. Awesome! Tired and hungry, made way for Nelson. Much deserved shower, went out for dinner across rugby practice fields. Had green lip mussels (big!), lamb, chicken wing + beer and wine. Awesome!

Day 19 (Wine tasting!)

So we left Nelson heading for the Marlborough wine region. On CamperMate we had seen a tip for a neighborhood where we could combine some different wine houses for wine tasting. Our favorite drink besides beer... and Chocomel (de enige Echte!). Once we endured the hilly road there, the CamperMate marker appeared to be in the middle of nowhere. Our search for an I-site began. We ended up in Redwick, where the I-site was located in a dark corner. An old lady stepped out with her grandson telling me "you ought to take a look". So we stepped into this I-site which was more like a shop selling knitting wear. And not just some knitting wear, it was piled all over the place. At the entrance though there were some information folders. We scooped one up and ran back to our van. On our way there we already saw some directions and our stolen map showed the same treasury marks. Off we went.

First vineyard to visit was Wauri, where we had blue cheese soufflé and a Pinot Gris for lunch. Of course we had the problem of appointing a designated driver but because Sanne missed a door step and I felt sorry for her, I held back on the wines. After our awesome lunch, we tasted some wines and went off to the Giesser house (on foot). Here we got the opportunity to try a wide variety of wine types, with their version of the Pinot Gris ending up being our favorite. We bought a bottle. Next up was Nautilus, where we had seen the sign promoting cheese platters. We acquired our cheese platter and set outside in the sun. We made a deal with the 'wine expert' that he would bring us our tastings in a timely fashion and that we would come inside if it wasn't fashionable enough. A bit group of thirsty tourists appeared and our wine pouring servant got occupied. Short on wine, we focused on our cheese platter, enjoying the sun and the honey that came along. There we bought an oaky Chardonnay, which we would later finish on my Birthday. Awesomeness. From here on we continued our ride to Picton, where we would catch our ferry the next day. We ended up in a free camping spot next to a road where we went chilling in the grassy area. Cars would drive by beeping their horns and I got curious why they would do that. Googled it...

Day 20 (Wellington!)

So we got up at 6:45, luckily I advised Sanne to set an alarm as well as I accidentally set mine an hour too late. Headed for the boat, waited in line, drove on to the boat, had a very expensive breakfast. Headed for sea, was at least an hour before we passed all the fjord-like mountains and another 2 hours later we arrived at sunny Wellington. Didn't expect this to be such a large city, in fact I didn't know this was the capital, because we read that the Southern Island was often 10°C warmer we expected a cloudy, misty harbor town. So we went sightseeing; drove up Mt. Victoria (got away surprisingly easily from the ferry, curvy ride up the hill), saw airport, city center, beach. Drove to Te Papa, went searching for lunch, busy streets. Planned to go to cable car, went to Te Papa museum instead. Learned all about NZ's earthquakes, wars, culture. Amazing interactive museum, as the lonely planet predicted (normally we're not bit fans of museums). As we planned to go to Taranaki, we made our way North.

Day 21 (Birthdayy!!)

Today was a special day: at around 6AM CET (I've checked my birth certificate) my mother endured incredible pains to get headaches for the next 18 years, aka it was my birthday. We didn't plan anything special for the day, we even planned to travel quite a distance, but because it was my day I got to decide where we would stop on the way. First up was Foxton, not because of its cool name or fancy highlights, but because we had to go to the restrooms and we saw a sign pointing us to a Dutch windmill. To be pc (politically correct) we could mention that it felt like home, but we don't really feel any sympathy (?) with Dutch windmills. There was a Dutch lady though, selling Dutch treats and coffee. We ordered some "appeltaart" and "worteltjestaart". We continued our way to Taranaki, a volcano on the Southwestern part of the Northern island. We made a stop at an I-site (Whanganui?) where we got some info on the trips going up the volcano (water tower). Headed for Stratford, small town, old-looking shops and restaurants along the road. Headed up for the Volcano (at the Eastern entry). Did a short hike towards the skiing area. Rocky, apparently lots of stones falling, deserted après-ski bars. Went back for Stratford, stayed at a Holiday Park with new owners, that were lucky enough to have bought the place some months before the area had been named the 2nd best place of the world by Lonely Planet. We took a birthday swim, had birthday lamb on the bbq, and drank our Marlborough oaky Chardonnay (very long birthday).

Day 22

Fantham's peak, lots of water on the track, steep slope, sliding on rocks. Very windy on top, anchored cabin. Argentinian boys. Cloudy vs blue (with day before), snowboarding down, headed for New Plymouth.

Coastal walkway, wand vs wall (??), actual town pub food, festival of lights in Pukekura park. Long day, unplanned! (saw brochure at Stratford).

Day 23

Headed for Tongariro, long drive, Google maps made it interesting for us. Hour of gravel road. Ended up in a seemingly deserted place (one grass mower though). Site was fully booked, made a reservation at another site (who only accepted people needing/using their Shuttle services..). Interesting location, everyone there came for the trek. Lots of reading (in the sun!) and went to bed early because we had to depart at 6 in the morning (wasn't even the earliest available). Due to muddy grass (lot of raining) we were parked in the parking spot of a cabin. The lady at the reception desk was Dutch. Couscous (risotto) was successful for the first time.

Day 23

Woke up early, had prepared bag the evening before (including sandwiches with left-over sausage). Pasta pesto for breakfast (leftover from birthday day), and the best option. However, ricotta is always good. Only allowed into the bus when wearing multiple layers, including rain jacket and having 1.5 liters of water per person. Were happy we didn't question these requirements.

It was a perfect blue day, heard multiple stories on the crossing from friends, I think we really got lucky. Valley in shadow, as soon as we started climbing it became more crowded. It was obvious that this was NZ's most popular one-day trek. Two possibilities for extending your route (Mt. Tongariro and ...?), still feeling the Taranaki Fantham peak in our calves, we decided to do the easier Tongariro peak. Once we got to the 1st intermediate peak, with stunning views on the blue lake and on of the Emerald lakes, central crater, decided the peak wouldn't give us anything extra and headed back to the main route (I felt like deserting my purpose) Icy mountains [cap flying away and got saved by NL teenage brains]. [irritante NL'es die ons adviseerde om terug te lopen].

Red crater (b'vo!), emerald lakes, blue lake, zigzag route down, toilet, waiting for bus (red!) in crowded area. Retrieved car, headed for lake Taupo. Swam, took pictured to make people jealous (1st day of winter, shortest day back home). Sound of cars and waves (in Motutera?). Right next to lake Taupo.

Day 23

Next morning, made our way around the lake to "city" of Taupo. Parked next to some golfers, trying to hit a little floating island. Made our way around town (2 mins...). Saw another mini railroad (they do love trains) and headed for coffee in the main street. Enjoyed our coffee with some Lonely Planet planning, then decided to watch the Huka Falls on our way to Rotorua. Pretty rough, lots of water, river is used to produce 15% of NZ's electricity (through various plants).

Rotorua: lots of geothermal activity. Redwoods (MTB), and were told to do a hangi at one of Maori tribes so decided for first time during our journey to book for 2 nights. Holiday park, less cheap options on North island (and were spoiled enough to require our daily shower). Headed out, park next to our camping already had lots of steamy, smelling pools. Eat Streat, first snack and local brewed beers [had booked our hangi experience already]. Then headed for the park where the blue pools were. Paid too much for an hour of swimming, nice old style building though. Then headed for evening market with eateries (recommended! Thursday nights). Checked everything out, took some skewers, headed for eat streat again, 2nd round of beers. Final round for more food (things being sold out). Headed back home.

Day 24

Headed for Redwoods, giant trees we had also seen in CA where they originate from. 2 entries: one for walking and tree-top tours, one for MTB. We got redirected to the MTB one, were handed a map with a cool route, bikes and helmets and headed out. Fun to do something different for a change. had been raining so was kind of muddy (more fun!). Cool tracks and became tired after 2,5 hours. Headed to parking lot, did a short route to a lookout on the Te Puia geyser (Pohutu ofzo) the city and lake. Geyser normally super expensive. Back to camping, warm baths, shower, headed for Matai Maori village.

Large hall with seating, lovely British people at our table (sports in high school, math teacher in Christchurch, 85 yo grandpa). Older man welcomed us, John, lots of jokes. Told about customs, Maori language, culture, food, etc. Saw hangi cooking place, warriors arriving (shouting, moves with paddles), painted faces. Show with dancing, singing, Haka, weapons, instruments. Went for dinner and a nigh walk, more glow worms, ferns, jokes by John, and a cold water source.

Day 25 (Hobbiton...)

Mata Mountain, good coffee and a I-site like a hobbit house. Lots of people who were taking pictures there, my first though was that they thought "this is it!", but after our drive to the "real" Hobbiton and finding out it was $76,- pp, I wished I had taken a picture there too. "Photoshopped" a nice picture and took off.

Coromandel, cool drive! Tried smoked mussels, never again. Best pizza of the holiday award for Luke's restaurant! Stayed the night at Whitianga, Germans apparently celebrate Christmas on the 24th, drunk at the Kitchen area. We bought our Christmas dinner on our way there, but had to wait an extra day. Took a Christmas eve straw stroll on the beach, nice houses on the side ("back").

Day 26 (Christmas day!)

Cathedral Cove - Lonely Planet said to go early, regret we didn't. Had to drive up a hill at Hahei, entrance to the trail and parking lot. Queue battle for a spot. Don't have the patience and not rude enough to get one, went for a spot at Hahei beach (after some debate..). Cool beach, with island all around from the shore. Walked an extra 20 minutes because of it, but not a hard walk. Lots of people with kids, picnicking etc. Also, lots of nice views on the way to the Cove, passing some other bays (or entrance to). The actual beach was crowded, should have taken swimming wear. Were able to get some good shots, Sanne won with a pic of me picking my nose on a stone in the cove. Relaxed for a bit, then headed back because we had some driving to do.

Visited Auckland. Didn't stay for too long because we would be coming back. City was deserted, got some pics of a Lego Christmas tree, and a big building covering Santa, bought an over-expensive Christmas drink at Starbucks and headed North.

Ended up at Red beach where the camping grounds were filled with people celebrating Christmas. Lots of kids, food and music. We found ourselves a table at the BBQ corner and took out the cheeses, wine (Marlborough, Sanne's choice of Pinot Gris), and BBQ meats (potatoes, asparagus). Cooked ourselves an awesome Christmas dinner, never had bbq for Christmas before. We did decide to do the Beef Wellington in January though. Once dark set in, lit some candles. Went to bed very tired, was a long day.

Day 27 (Russell)

So we headed up further North. Just like all other NZ'ers we wanted to be at the Bay of Islands during the Holiday season. Colleague and NZ'er Nathan had given a tip me a tip to do the drive to Russell and then from there take the boat to Paiha. The road would be more interesting that way. We did and hit a long graffel gravel road. Not really convenient, not sure if he meant the other way around, will have to ask. We did end up at Russell, most expensive holiday park we had. Had an awesome beef, bacon, cheese (steak) pie on the way there (during the only traffic jam we had encountered). Also, coffee at McDonalds.. Nothing else was open.

Russell is on a stretch of land surrounded by sea and islands. First walked to long beach where I had a dive. Along the way we again saw the "dogs kill kiwis" sign, which is a thing here in NZ (training your dog not to), and I learned they do the same in NL with ducks. Only, ducks can fly.....

Historical capital (not Russell). First treaty. Walked towards the other shore, ~20 mins apart, lots of fancy restaurants and buildings with a story. Found awesome wood oven restaurant, had some beers, then watched beautiful sunset across the water, sun disappearing behind Pahia.

Day 28

Because the camping was so expensive and had been noisy at night, we claimed a late checkout (without telling anyone). Headed for the ferry for our 10 min boat ride (ferries come and go). Paiha was the cheap and a bit more messy version of Russell. Walked around, had a drink and some snacks at the shore. Played threes (a returning addiction), beat my long-standing high score and headed for Matauri bay. Matauri was beautiful! Outstretch of land surrounded by sea, resulting in a camping full of NZ'ers and two beaches on either side. At the end was a steep hill that provided a lookout on some distant islands. Also, there was a monument for the rainbow warrior bombing (French governor vs Greenpeace). After we found our spot between the regulars, took a look and enjoyed the beach. Water was colder than Russell... (lost "argument", had to jump in twice). Secretly had a beer and our leftover Christmas snacks. Finished our refrigerator contents, resulting in a poor/cheap pasta carbonara which we had been postponing for quite some time.

Day 29

Back to Auckland, stopped at Wanganui for lunch (things were actually open now).