After driving up and down the Coromandel Peninsula at least 10 times it was finally time to leave and go explore the central North Island. The day after Christmas is Boxing Day and everyone goes shopping! Of course we were trying to blend in as best we could, which meant another trip to Tauranga to raid the outdoor shops. We were expecting hordes of screaming shoppers but were quite disappointed... Most shops were even closed! By now we were pretty close to the Hobbiton movie set in Matamata and decided that we could not miss it! After the LoTR movies were filmed all outdoor sets were broken down because of copyright laws, but the owners of the land on which the Hobbiton set was build arranged that they could keep it for tourists. We had to book a tour to get there and were helped financially by a random Samaritan lady who gave us 90 dollar as a Christmas gift! Not bad, not bad at all! The movie set was really cool and full of detail, but a bit crowded. We must have photographed every little hobbit hole there is! In the end we enjoyed a nice cold beer and ginger beer in the Green Dragon Inn before being rushed through the merchandise shop and back in the tour bus. We free-camped together with some "gypsy-style" Maori families before climbing Wairere Falls (153m) the next day. This was a tough climb through native forest, but we were rewarded with a great view while having lunch on the waterfall's edge :).
Our next stop was touristy Rotorua, the center of Maori culture and a very smelly place indeed. The city is build upon an active volcanic area resulting in numerous hot springs, mud pits and sulphur smokers. Historically this area has been of great importance to the Maori tribes. Because everything in the area was really expensive we tried to pick the free activities. Our German friends also arrived in Rotorua that day and joined us for a walk along big lake Rotorua. The water closest to town is yellow from all the sulphur and nothing grows in it, but it is pretty interesting to see and smell! After the walk we took a small nap in the van and all of a sudden we heard: "trololololol" coming from the car next to us. It were Jan and Olga (our colleagues and now good friends from the kiwifruit orchard with which we have spend quite some nights at the Purangi Winery back in the Coromandel :)) pulling up next to us. They told us that they knew a free camping spot for the night. We tagged along and ended up next to a sawing mill factory in the middle of the forest at a small grassy field tucked away behind an electricity building. Luckily it was dark and rainy so we weren't seen by all the security camera's ;) We had a wonderful mosquito laden night. The next day we did a walk together in the Redwood Forest while the rain was pouring down. The huge trees stopped a lot of it though. After all this wetness we needed some warmth so decided to camp at a campsite with a natural hot spring :)
Taupo was our destination to celebrate New Year. Lake Taupo is a huge lake in the center of the North Island. We spend 5 nights free camping at the lake front enjoying some well deserved rest and relaxation. Of course we did all the free stuff in the surrounding area which included a visit to the beehive/honey shop, bathing in natural hot pools and visiting a few waterfalls and rapids, swimming and kayaking (not free ;)) in/on crystal clear Lake Taupo, reading books, sleeping and providing lake-side audiences to all our traveling friends in New Zealand (Germans, Dutch, Scots and Czechs you name it! Hopefully we meet many of them again on the South Island :) trololol). There was a huge fire work show on the lake on New Year's Eve, one at 9.30pm for the little ones and another at midnight. Afterwards it was time for some beers at the local pub. Soon we were joined by a friendly Maori named Duane which we chilled with the next day as well.
After all this excitement we really needed a new job! We hit the library to email and call a bugger-load of orchards and vineyards, but without immediate results. To better sell our specific skill-set we decided to drive up north to Te Puke (Kiwifruit capital of NZ) and visit the kiwifruit orchards in that area. Soon we found out that we drove up for nothing because the kiwifruit industry is pretty much asleep in January...Bugger, bugger, bugger and tits! Luckily all the calling and emailing wasn't all for nothing as we got a phone call from Glennis saying that she needed us in Martinborough asap to work on the vineyards. As Martinborough was on the other side of the Island we had a 8+ hour road trip ahead of us! Roger "een hitje voor elk ritje" van der Stigl and Wikael "Schumie" Veele hopped in THE GENERAL!! (double time!!) and drove through the beautiful desert road to the rescue. New Zealand really does have all climates...bastards!
Martinborough appeared to be a lovely little town with cafes and boutiques around a central square. We worked on a number of vineyards in the area. Our main tasks were removing leaves to give the grapes more sunlight and thinning the fruit to make sure the remaining fruit could ripen in the coming months. During our work we could stay on one of the vineyards with our campervan. Free sleeping spot yeah! And a hot shower every day :). The Australian Open was around the same time so we became regular costumers at the local sports bar (Go Stanimal!!!) We of course made some new friends during our time here :) Our colleague Bev invited us for a roast lam diner at her home where we also stayed the night. It was a wonderful diner, one of those diners that you normally only have around Christmas! We contributed with an improvised trifle in a cup to complement the feast. Also we were invited to a BBQ meets "Christmas presents you don't want" party at Glennis her home. After a lot of meat and wine it was game time! Everyone got a number to pick a present from the pile or snatch an already unwrapped present from someone else. We ended up with an Italian apron for our canned diners :). After 2,5 weeks of bending at the grapevines our backs had had enough and we drove back up to the Central Plateau for some serious tramping.
Martinborough appeared to be a lovely little town with cafes and boutiques around a central square. We worked on a number of vineyards in the area. Our main tasks were removing leaves to give the grapes more sunlight and thinning the fruit to make sure the remaining fruit could ripen in the coming months. During our work we could stay on one of the vineyards with our campervan. Free sleeping spot yeah! And a hot shower every day :). The Australian Open was around the same time so we became regular costumers at the local sports bar (Go Stanimal!!!) We of course made some new friends during our time here :) Our colleague Bev invited us for a roast lam diner at her home where we also stayed the night. It was a wonderful diner, one of those diners that you normally only have around Christmas! We contributed with an improvised trifle in a cup to complement the feast. Also we were invited to a BBQ meets "Christmas presents you don't want" party at Glennis her home. After a lot of meat and wine it was game time! Everyone got a number to pick a present from the pile or snatch an already unwrapped present from someone else. We ended up with an Italian apron for our canned diners :). After 2,5 weeks of bending at the grapevines our backs had had enough and we drove back up to the Central Plateau for some serious tramping.
We booked the Tongariro Northern Circuit, a 4 day hike around Mt Ngarahoe and Mt Tongariro, two active volcanoes. Last year there was a small eruption in the area and part of the tramp is marked as an active volcanic hazard zone. Better pray it remains asleep when we clamber around it! This was the first time we tramped in full gear with food for 5 days and 8L of water, a tent and sleeping bags. Also we brought plenty of warm clothes (merino!) as the weather can change quickly in this alpine area with rain, sometimes snow in the summer and wind up to 100km/h. However we had nothing but clear skies during all 4 days, something that happens maybe once every few years. Lucky us! The walk started with a short 3h hike from the village of Whakapapa to the first hut. The next day was the toughest as we did the Tongariro Alpine Crossing and climbed Mt Doom (Mt Ngarahoe). The slope is at a 45 degree angle and consists of mostly loose rocks and lava... a tough climb to ~2300m but very rewarding as we could see the whole north island from the top! Had to be careful not to fall into the big crater though... There was even smoke coming out of some vents. The last two days we traversed the desert area surrounding the volcanoes and experienced heavy wind (60-70km/h?) on the last day while trying to climb a ridge. Easily the most incredible hike we have done so far!
Almost time to cross to the South Island so we made our way down to Wellington at the bottom of the North Island via the Forgotten World Highway. The ferries leave from Wellington a couple of times a day to cross Cook's Straight towards Picton on the other side. In Wellington we visited the Weta Workshop from the company that makes most of the effects and designs for the Lord of the Rings, District 9, King Kong and Avatar. We got a short tour behind the scenes where they explained how they make all the armors, weapons, designs and marquettes. Apparently they make most weapons and armor from plastic and just give it a metallic finish. You can just bend Sauron's pointy helmet! They do have a master swordsmith on the premises for the close-up shots :). After that we did some general touristic sightseeing. Our ferry was due to depart at 8 o'clock so an early wake up was necessary. After 3 hours we arrived in Picton at Marlborough Sounds to continue our adventure on the South Island :) We'll tell you more about that in our next blog!
love and hugs from the curly couple
picca's:
