I had tried to make reservations nine months early to get a single berth on the Indian Pacific train that travels from Perth to Sydney but was instead put on the waitlist. I wanted to do the train trip as a way to see some of the interior of Australia and also because I had never done a multi-day train trip before and I was interested to explore that means of travel. Consequently I was super excited to get a notice in January, about two months before the scheduled departure, that I had a berth on the train. Well it turned out to be an interesting trip on many levels.
The instructions were to arrive at the East Perth train terminal no later than two hours before the departure time of 6pm. I checked out of my hotel, spent some time in the lobby writing up my previous blog post, went off to have lunch and ended up showing up at the station to check in for the train around 2:30pm. it is a good thing that I got there early because they did not have a cabin assignment for me in their system, even though I had a reservation. Also there was some question about whether our train would make it through to Sydney due to track flooding just outside of Adelaide. It turns out both issues were connected– because of the track flooding the train had been stuck in Perth for the pervious five days and thus the two additional single berth cars required to fill the manifest were not available (they were in Adelaide). All of the local passengers had been canceled but the handful of us that were international were maintained. But when the transferred us over, we did not get cabin assignments; something happened in their system. By the way, apparently the rain they were getting was creating flooding at a level they had not seen since the 1970s (sound familiar- read my New Zealand South Island posts), so clearly I jinxed the trip.
After explaining the situation and ensuring that I did, indeed, have a cabin, the train representative went on to explain that they were going to run the trip, but were not sure if the flooding would recede enough for the tracks to be passable when we arrived and if that was the case, they would be returning us to Perth and would fly us to our final destination. (At this point some passengers opted to cancel with a full refund.). Since I was in it to see the outback and to have an adventure and they were going to make sure I got to Sydney regardless, I told them I would go. They sent me down to their welcome reception to have drinks and food while they worked on the cabin issue and eventually I got my cabin and we boarded. The adventure was starting early!
My single berth cabin. The table folds down and the bed folds out from the left wall laying just below the bottom window sill. There was also a small sink for washing and brushing my teeth.
My single cabin was very cozy but had room enough for my needs. The bed folded down from the left wall and spanned the whole width of the cabin, which served as a sitting room during the day. I only travel with a duffle bag and a backpack so space for luggage was not an issue; mine fit neatly under the center table and one of the seats. (Those with more luggage checked their large bags in and only took small carry-on bags to their rooms.). Our carriage, which was all single berths, shared four toilets and two showers, which was never a problem. I was actually surprised how big the bathrooms were, especially the shower.
Four carriages shared a lounge car which was the main social hub, containing lots of viewing windows and the bar. The dining car was just beyond the lounge car and we had allocated time slots to eat as everyone could not be accommodated at once. We had a “cruise director” assigned to our four cars and it was her responsibility to make sure we all knew what was going on and troubleshoot problems. The interesting thing was that we, the passengers, were grouped into “pods”. For example, I could not walk the full length of the train, which was about half a mile long, because aft beyond our dining car was a kitchen carriage, staff quarters, a mechanical carriage (electronics and HVAC, I think) probably a water tank carriage etc.. before getting to the next section of passengers. Logically this kind of arrangement makes sense (and also allows them to separate the different classes of passengers….).
The lounge car. Social hub for our “pod”.
The planned itinerary had a stop everyday at a different destination with different choices for excursions. In practice, only our first day worked out that way because of the uncertainty around track accessibility. They were constantly changing our scheduled stops trying to time our arrival to the flooded area such that the teams there had the longest amount of time to get the tracks cleared. That timing, along with the duty day constraints of the train operator, threw our planned itinerary out the window from the start. But we did make our first stop, in Kalgoorie, the site of Australia’s largest open pit mine (gold) and the one excursion I did not want to miss– an in depth tour.
Kalgoorie is a small town, around 30,000 people, that is, and has been, a mining hub for gold for over a hundred years, serving not only the Fimiston Open pit just on the outskirts of town, but the whole region and network of mines for miles around. The town still retains its original architecture making me feel like we had traveled back in time as the bus took us down Main Street on the way to the mine. The Fimiston Open pit mine, also known as the “superpit” was formed when four smaller open pit mines were consolidated. The pit is huge, 3.5km long, 1.6km wide and currently 675m deep (that will go to 800m) and branching off of the open pit into a labyrinth underground are shafts that go to 1.2km depths. The scale of the operation is hard to believe and one of the reasons I was looking forward to the tour was to learn more about mining and how it is managed and what is involved.
Before we got to the mine itself we stopped at the local mining museum where they had tea, coffee and pastries waiting while we roamed around to get some background. I found a short film that described a typical day and rhythm for the mine operators and spent most of the short time we had there absorbing that information. They also had a monster dump truck on display, an up close way to appreciate the scale of what we were about to see. The tires were taller than any of us by quite a bit! I found out later that they cost about $6M (Australian) and can haul 245 tons of rock- and they go through tires pretty quickly!
The monster dump truck. HUGE!
After visiting the museum we headed to the mine site. Our tour took us onto the grounds and we were driven past different areas of the mine and were able to get out of the bus at two different look out sites to view the pit and the activity that was happening. The monster trucks, up close, looked like matchbox toys from the lookout points high above the floor of the mine. I sat near the front of the bus and pretty much peppered the driver with questions (when he was not talking)– poor guy– everything from logistics to technical to environmental. It was fascinating!! Just a couple of interesting facts:
- They get about 1.3 grams of gold per ton of rock. Average take is 450kg gold/year (roughly).
- They use groundwater from the water table for their processing. The ground water is seven times more salty than the ocean so they have to desalinate. (Fresh water for population consumption is piped in from Perth.
- They are doing land reclamation and have projects going back as far as 50 years and are still experimenting on methods.
- They have 11 years of tailings built up to process- building a new processing mill.
- Australia has a “fly in/fly out” contract employment process for workers in the outback (not just in the mines)- the workers are provided food, housing etc and work intense several week shifts then are off.
- The trucks all have drivers. Some remote/robotics operations happen when drilling new tunnels. Samples are taken to sort out where the gold vein is running and exact measurements are provided on where to continue a shaft.
- Maintenance is constant and the infrastructure to keep the mine operating is impressive.
I could go on but will stop there.
Big picture view of the superset. The small tunnel openings on the lower right allowed the trucks to get down to the shafts to remove newly mined tunnel rock.
A close up of the “roads” that the trucks wound up after emerging from the mine shafts. Recall the size of those trucks from the earlier picture…
After leaving Kalgoorie, our next stop was supposed to be Broken Hill, but that stop was in the flooded zone. Instead we stopped in Rawlina, population 33 (no kidding), which had been an old mining town but died when the mines shut down. The people that live there now run a sheep station. They get their mail from the train and the closest town is Kalgoorie, a five hour drive; it’s the very definition of remote! At this point we were well onto the Nullarbor Plain and the semi-arid landscape, dotted with small trees and various bushes had completely given way to flat plains and short grasses that stretched off in all directions. What I saw before me was my imagination of the Australian outback… At Rawlina, we had a “dining under the stars” but since it was still late afternoon, the sun was still up. For some reason the train had switched from Perth time to Adelaide time between Kalgoorie and Rawlina so the clocks/timing was strange. At this point it was still unknown whether the tracks would be passable.
We woke up in the morning at Cook, which was also in the middle of nowhere in the Nullarbor train and existed as an outpost for crew transfer. Our Perth train operators had to be swapped out with new ones. We sat there a bit while, I suspect, the team was trying to sort whether we could get through because we eventually got an announcement that we were headed back to Perth. Everyone in our pod took that announcement well as we all knew it would be a possibility and the company worked really hard to accommodate schedules and get logistics set up so that individual plans would not be upset. We ended up returning to Perth and they put us up in a hotel the night before our flights to Sydney. I arrived in Sydney more or less the same time/day that I would have on the train.
My overall takeaway: I had approached the train trip as a “land cruise”. And it is in some ways, but also is not in significant ways. Specifically, on a ship you have a lot more room to walk around and I missed being able to just move. Living space is tighter on the train (not unsurprisingly) but that did not bother me. It is hard to judge how much having the ability to get off the train at each planned stop and experience each excursion would have changed my impressions. So would I do it again? Maybe…. But, regardless of the outcome, it was an adventure, I met a lot of interesting people, and I am glad I did it.
Leaving Margaret River I drove two hours south to Pemberton, my home for the next few days. The drive was lovely, weaving through the numerous national parks that dot the southern part of Western Australia. Pemberton is a very small town with a population just under 1000, but is a popular destination for outdoor enthusiasts because of its location, basically the numerous parks. I had picked Pemberton as a destination exactly for that reason– a place to relax and unwind while being surrounded by amazing nature. Nestled in between the towering trees are farms, ranches and more vineyards making the area very picturesque, even in late summer when much of the vegetation was dried and brown. The town library hosted an information center and I stopped there first to explore what resources were available on the parks and recommendations on what not to miss. I was pleased to find several maps available showing hiking and driving routes through the various parks. A short, five minute drive had me arriving at my motel which turned out to be less than two miles from one of the parks that was on the top of my list. After settling in I surveyed the local restaurant situation and decided to visit the grocery store as well.
The next morning I walked to Gloucester National Park to see the famous Gloucester tree, a giant karri tree nearly 200 feet tall. In the past it was possible to climb to the top to a viewing platform via a spiraling staircase embedded in its trunk. That is no longer possible as the platform was closed in 2023 due to structural issues, but instead an “aerial adventure” company has set up extensive zip lines and elevated obstacle courses for people to try while hanging in the canopy. My main goal of the morning was really to talk a long walk, so I hiked around the park and on my way out stopped at the tree and watched people try to negotiate some of the trickier balancing challenges.
The platforms that remain on the Gloucester Tree are for zip lines. I just fell in love with these tall majestic trees!
The next few days I spent touring through the nearby parks, sometimes just driving through and sometimes stopping to hike. Most of the road through the parks were unpaved and I soon had a film of red dust coating my vehicle. There are several other famous trees in the area, one of which you can still climb- the Bicentennial tree in Warren National Park. It, too, is nearly 200 feet high and the pegs for climbing were added in 1988 in celebration of Australia’s bicentennial. The “stairway” to climb this tree looked way more perilous than the relatively civilized ladder at Gloucester. I climbed a few rungs, just to get a feel for the rhythm, but there was no way I was going to do the whole thing. First, it would be extremely easy to slip between the rungs to fall to the ground and second, I am not a big fan of heights; even climbing 10 feet or so was a bit interesting. I went on to do some hiking in the park and when I emerged an hour or two later, there was someone, a German from the sound of it, at the top platform. Kudos to him!!!
I also visited area lakes, one of which was dammed up and was an excellent place for swimming and picnicking, and a small waterfall with a nice forest overlook. I did not visit any wineries although originally that was in my plans because I was still wine-saturated and had several bottles from Margaret River to still drink. Overall I just enjoyed roaming around in the parks and chilling out in the motel.
Me pretending to climb the Bicentennial Tree. Weirdly they had kind of a flimsy net on the edge of the pegs to avoid falls that way, but the pegs were far enough apart it would be easily to slip and fall down (as opposed to sideways). Very exposed!!
Picture for scale. The German guy is at the top platform on the Bicentennial Tree and his wife is at the bottom. These trees are TALL!
After several days I headed back to Perth, taking the four hour drive slowly winding around back roads in order to see more of the countryside. I turned the car in and headed to the city center where I had booked a hotel for three nights. The Perth train system is extensive it is very easy to get around the city so getting to my hotel was straightforward. The Perth city center is very vibrant, no doubt to the presence of the University of Western Australia and the many young people who attend it. Like Sydney, Perth is built around a large harbor, but unlike Sydney the harbor is not the major commercial port. Freemantle sits at the entrance to the Perth’s harbor, a bit ways down the Swan River, and services the area (and is Western Australia’s largest and and busiest general cargo port). Hence the Perth shoreline seems less crowded and developed despite being the fourth largest city in Australia. It felt, to me, like a “big small city”.
I kept my exploration of Perth low-key, hanging in the city center and exploring on foot. There is a large park and botanical garden (and I mean HUGE) northwest of the city center and I spent an afternoon wandering around, walking along the shoreline. I also spent four hours in the museum of Western Australia soaking up the history and culture of the area. An unexpected delight turned out to be the Perth Festival, which is an ongoing summer festival every year. The festival is a celebration of the arts and events are hosted throughout the city. The main city plaza, two blocks from my hotel, hosted a dance exhibition that was quite interesting to watch. The theme was basically “take a bunch of people who volunteered and teach them to dance as a group in five lessons or so”. The choreographer was from France (with a good sense of humor) and I discovered them on Thursday and went back to watch on Friday when they put the whole routine together. There were 150 people, of which only two dozen or so were professionals, all out there dancing together. The warm-up dancing, which was about 30 minutes, was open to the whole crowd. It was fun to watch; a great community event and people really looked like they were having fun. (The dance itself was a bit modern and looked at times chaotic…). It was a great way to close out my visit to Perth – a city I really enjoyed.
Community dance project at the Perth Festival.
I picked up my car in the morning at the Perth airport to start my journey south along the coast towards Margaret River. Since it was a Sunday and the weekend markets were happening in Freemantle, I decided to stop and check it out before leaving the Perth area. Luckily I got there relatively early, about mid-morning, so I could find a parking place. I spent about three hours roaming around and it was noticeably more crowded as I left!
Freemantle is an old port town settled in the early 1800’s by convicts and gold miners. The roundhouse, which served as the original prison, is still standing near the coast. A new prison, today a UNESCO World Heritage site, was built later and was rather notorious throughout its occupation, which lasted until the early 1990s. Many of the buildings in Freemantle are well preserved giving you a glimpse of what it might have been like to walk the streets 200 years ago. The markets, housed in a building that has hosted them since the late 1890s, today consist of a combination of produce, food vendors and artisans and I enjoyed browsing through the aisles to see what was being offered. Outside the market building is a maze of small streets with other shops and cafes. I wandered down to the port and found a seafood restaurant claiming to offer the best fish and chips in the area (it was pretty good!).
The old roundhouse in Freemantle. Very well preserved and still standing!
After poking my head in all of the alleys and small streets, I decided to continue on my journey. The day’s destination was Bunbury, another small port city about 90ish minutes further south of Perth, where I was going to spend the evening. I decided to stop there because of their Dolphin center and the fact that many of the wild dolphins tend to visit the beach by the center. I arrived late afternoon and since it was a Sunday, the small town center did not have much open, but I found a place to grab a bite. The coast had some lovely walking paths and as I strolled along I admired the very large, expensive looking beach houses which made me wonder if the town served as a retirement retreat for Perth. The next morning I headed over to the Dolphin center and spent an hour or two perusing the exhibits and waiting for the bell to ring which announced the arrival of some of the wild dolphins. It was nice to see that the center also does turtle rescue work, too!
Late morning I left Bunbury behind and decided to stop at Cape Naturaliste to see the lighthouse. The lighthouse sits on a spit of land that juts out into the Indian Ocean and was an important navigation aide for ships to avoid the many rocks along the coastline. The lighthouse today sits at the north end of a national park with a coastal walk that goes south to Augusta (and beyond) to another important lighthouse I stopped by (later) at Cape Leeuwin. They had a small museum that talked about life as a lighthouse keeper, which sounded challenging both because of the isolation and the hard work needed to ensure the light was constantly functioning.
After leaving the lighthouse, I turned south towards Margaret River, taking a back road to enjoy the scenery. One of the main reasons I had picked Margaret River as a stop on my itinerary was because it’s one of the wine growing regions of Australia. Cave road, which I drove south on, is the major road for finding wineries! There are about 150ish (I kept getting different numbers from different people) in the area and sure enough, after only 30 minutes of driving, I started coming across signs advertising wine tasting. I stopped at one randomly and had a nice chat with the young woman who worked there while I tasted their wines (great Shiraz!). I asked her to recommend another winery to me and she suggested one a few miles down the road, so I stopped there too (great Cab Sav!). I also stopped at a few art galleries as I made my way to Margaret River to check in to the bed & breakfast I had booked.
An example of the coastline. Mainly low scrub brush and a lot of the landscape was brown; it was the dry season in the area and looked like late summer.
Margaret River another small town, with a population of around 8000, another 11,00 or so in the region, draws in over half a million visitors annually due to their central location in the wine region. The city center stretched along both sides of the major road that goes through the town and my B&B was only two blocks off the main drag. My host had a nice map of the area waiting for me marking all of the wineries, galleries, restaurants and other attractions; I found it really useful when trying to target which wineries to visit. (He also made some recommendations!)
Parts of the coast were rocky. This area, the Canal Rocks, were just south of Cape Naturaliste and the waves were violently pounding into the rocks creating some spectacular surf.
Next morning I headed south on highway 10, the main highway through the area, heading to Cape Leeuwin to see the lighthouse, as well as the point where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet; I was at the southwestern most point of Australia! The strong wind blowing from the west off the Indian Ocean reminded me of western beaches on the South Island of New Zealand and the fierce breezes coming west over the Tasman Sea. Driving north out of Augusta, a small town near the cape, I picked up the southern end of Caves Road (which I call “winery road”) heading for Jewel Cave. The area along the coast, between Cape Naturaliste and Cape Leeuwin, is riddled with caves and many are open for visitors. Jewel cave boasts being the largest show cave as well as host to the longest straw stalactites in Australia so it was on the top of my list to visit.
I timed my arrival perfectly, only having to wait for 30 minutes until the next tour. Each tour lasts an hour and you descend into the cave on several steep staircases. Periodic platforms provide convenient spots for the guide to stop and discuss various aspects of the cave. The cave used to be flooded, but the water level has steadily been going down over the last half century and today the whole cave is dry. The cave is huge and the rock formations are beautiful and it was eerie to stand in the complete dark, with all the lights off. Unlike the New Zealand cave in Waitomo I visited, where the glow worms provided enough faint light to see the outline of the person in front of me, Jewel cave was pitch black- nothing was discernible, not even my hand in front of my face. Not a place to get caught without a flashlight!
Jewel Cave near the entrance looking down the descending stairs into the lower chambers. The cave was huge!
An example of some of the formations in the cave. They were all beautiful.
After touring the cave, I continued north on Caves road which wound through a national park for much of the way back to Margaret River. The scenery was beautiful, tall Kaori (also known as eucalyptus trees) stood tall, with a high canopy and low undergrowth, giving the forest a light, airy feeling. I intended to come back and visit on another day, however; I was headed to two more wineries (I limited myself to two wineries when I drove!). Several people had recommended the two I visited and they were both good, although I liked the wine from the day before a bit better. I also stopped at a chocolate factory- yum! Back at the B&B I had wine and cheese for dinner (of course), as I sat on the patio and drank some of the wine I had purchased and paired it with some cheese I had also picked up. A relaxing way to end the day.
The next day I was met at 9:30am for the full-day wine tour I had signed up for. With someone else driving, the plan was to stop at five different wineries and finish off at another chocolate factory. The tour group was a mixture of Australians, English and some Germans (so I got to practice my German skills!). All of the wineries were different, many organic, and I enjoyed tasting the various approaches. Wine is very subjective so we all had different opinions about what we tasted. I liked some and did not like others; not unsurprisingly. The mantra I kept hearing from the various hosts was “Margaret River only produces 2% (or something like that) of Australia’s wines but wins 80% of the awards.” The region is very proud of the quality of their wines. Thankfully lunch was included and as it was a big lunch I repeated my wine/cheese nibbles for dinner. I was pretty wine-saturated at the end of the day…..
Tall beautiful majestic trees! Everywhere!!
My final day in Margaret River, I drove back down to the national park and hung out in the trees for a while. It was very peaceful and I did not see many people at all. Actually that has been the case the whole time I have been here. It does not feel very crowded and I rarely see cars on the road; yet they get 500,000 people through here yearly. I asked at one of the wineries and was told that it picks up a bit in March and stays busy through April, but there were still decent crowds around now. After spending some time in the park I decided to hit two more wineries, both recommended by the tour guide as additional “founding” wineries; those who had been in the area since the beginning. The grounds of both were very nice, and the last one had a marvelous Zinfindel, which was the first time I had seen that grape varietal. I broke down and bought one final bottle….
After a wonderful dinner at a South American restaurant, I went back to my B&B to pack for my departure the next morning. I enjoyed the wine (even though I only sampled less than 10% of the wineries) and the scenery but I was headed southeast, away from the coast to see more national parks.
After a month of volunteer work at a Buddhist Institute in the rainforest a few hours north of Brisbane I hit the road again and headed from the sub-tropics to the semi-arid desert of the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in central Australia. Ayers Rock, now commonly known as Uluru, has long been on my list of places to visit as it is an UNESCO World Heritage site, with historical and cultural significance. I also wanted to experience the Australian interior, so the destination checked two boxes for me!
The only place to stay at Uluru is the Ayers Rock Resort which has accommodations for a wide variety of budgets and styles. There are numerous tour companies that run a multitude of different tours (sunrise and sunset viewing, hiking etc..). I decided, almost at the last minute, to get a rental car for a couple of days even though I had a couple of tours booked in order to give me some freedom to roam around. It turned out to be a good decision….
After landing at the Uluru airport and picking up my car, I drove the short distance to my hotel at the resort and checked in. Summer is the rainy season in this part of Australia and it was overcast the rest of the day. It is big sky country in that you can see weather patterns a long distance off and it was common during my stay to see strong rain showers happening in the distance while blue sky was directly above. I settled in for the rest of the day and mapped out all of my options for the four days I was going to be in Uluru.
The next morning I got up early, around 5am, in order to drive the 48km over to the nearby rock formation of Kata-Tjuta, also known as the Olgas, to see the sunrise and do some hiking. It was still overcast, but I drove over there anyway because of the changeability of the weather– it was quite possible there were no clouds in the area of Kata-Tjuta, although the area just north of Ayers rock was overcast. Summer is also the off-tourist season so there were only a handful of others at the sunrise viewing site when I arrived. It was nice and peaceful as the sun rose over the horizon–except for the flies; another summer phenomenon. I had read ahead though and came prepared. I got out my fly net and put the fly it over my head to keep the flies from buzzing around and landing on my face. Unfortunately it was cloudy enough that the sun, after teasing us with a brief flash of yellow/orange color as it breached the horizon, soon disappeared into the clouds.
Just a couple of the fun signs I saw in the national park. Did not get a picture of the kangaroo sign.
I headed west around Kata-Tjuta to explore the Valley of the Winds, an area that is in the northwest corner of the rock formation and includes a circuit hike with two different lookout points. I only hiked in to one of them, however, as the clouds had been getting increasingly threatening and it looked like rain was going to drench me at any minute. After finishing my shortened hike at Valley of the Winds, I drove back south and stopped to walk up the Walpa Gorge walk. The circuit hike had been deserted- I only saw four other people- but the Gorge walk was a popular tour destination and there were tons of people coming and going up the 1.3km rocky path to the end of the gorge.
I took my time and lingered admiring the composite rocks, formed 500 million years or so ago. I was surprised, looking west from the gorge, to note other large rock formations, appearing like massive desert ships on an ocean of sand. Ayers Rock, and perhaps the Olgas, are very famous and well-known rock formations in central Australia, but they are not the only ones. I saw several in the distance in all directions I looked.
The Walpa Gorge and part of the walking path up into the gorge.
In addition, the area had much more vegetation than I expected. The sandy desert, sometimes totally flat, sometimes with gentle rolling hills, sported a vibrant green life of scraggly trees, low bushes and grasses. I was told that because it is the rainy season, the plant life was especially green, but the plants have adapted to the dry winters and remain year round. The rain caused flash floods and created large standing puddles both on the road and at seasonal watering holes. The national park staff warns drivers to be especially careful in the dark, as the animals approach the puddles on the road to drink at that time. Signs posted throughout the park warned of camel, kangaroo and reptile crossings-and I did get a kick out of the signs!
The day started to heat up so after a brief stop at the sunrise viewing platform on my return from the Olgas to get better pictures, I decided on an indoor activity and headed over to the cultural center near Uluru (the rock). The national park was returned to the ownership of the Anangu aboriginal people in October 1985 after a long and protracted battle with the Australian government to return their native lands. As part of the compromise, the Anangu leased the land back to the Australian government for 99 years for use as a national park, with the caveat that they had a deciding say in how the land was managed. It was a good compromise and at the cultural center the exhibits (and a movie) explained why Ayers Rock (Uluru) was sacred to the people and important for the practice and continuation of their culture. (more on that in a moment)
I returned to the hotel to relax by the pool in the heat of the afternoon but was back on the road near sunset to head to the sunset viewing area for Uluru. I had signed up for a bus tour later in the week to do sunset viewing followed by a BBQ, but since I had the car, I wanted to take advantage of every evening, especially because of the weather forecast (cloudy/rainy all week at various times). I am exceptionally glad I went because the sunset that evening was spectacular. The sky was painted in reds and oranges as the sun dipped past the horizon and a circular hole in the clouds glowed yellow-orange like a brightly lit egg yolk. The deep reds faded to pinks and purples as the light reflected off the bottom of distant clouds. I have to say it was one of the most stunning sunsets I have ever seen– an advantage of “big sky” country, no doubt.
Uluru sunset. This is just one small part of the sunset. Off to the right outside the frame were large red streaks shooting through the sky. But I liked the tree silhouettes here.
The next morning I was scheduled on a sunrise hiking tour around Uluru. It is possible to hike the 11km circuit on your own, but I wanted to hear the stories- geological, historical, cultural — that accompanied the tour. We headed out of the resort at 5:30 and saw an incredible sunrise, with all colors of the rainbow present, as we traveled to the start of the hike. I tried to capture as many photos as I could from the moving bus and luckily was able to to get a few, but they don’t do the beauty justice! The day was slightly overcast, with some sun peeking through to pound on our heads, making it clear why these hikes were scheduled for the morning; there was a big difference in effective temperature when the sun was out.
Sunrise photo from the bus. Look at the amazing colors!!!!
Our tour guide stopped at various points along the hike and explained the history and cultural significance of the rock. Ayers Rock (Uluru) is a massive mountain of rock but it has caves, erosion, boulders, pitting, water stains and lots of features on it; it is not an unblemished monolithic piece of stone. The aborigine tribes have creation stories associated with every feature of Uluru. The stories provide a means to communicate cultural norms, survival knowledge, morals and ethics and the physical features of the rock are considered evidence as to the veracity of the tales. Members of the community, both male and female, are initiated into various levels of the stories as they mature. Basically, Uluru is a giant physical mnemonic for the transmission of the important community knowledge and hence the sensitivity to respect and hold the physical landscape sacred. There are areas of the rock that we hiked past where photography was forbidden in respect to the cultural sensitivity. In addition, climbing the rock has been forbidden since 2019, although not only for cultural sensitivity reasons, but also for safety (it is pretty steep!) and environmental (people were leaving trash up there which gets washed off when it rains and pollutes the water and the area around the rock). I really enjoyed the hike and the insight into the connection between the physical landscape and the people who have lived in that landscape for well over 30,000 years.
Hiking around the base of Ayers Rock, near some caves on the north side. Hope you can appreciate the scale!
We got back to the hotel around 11:00am and after having a quick lunch, I got into the car and headed back out to Uluru to check out some shorter hikes near the Uluru sunrise viewing platform. As it was early afternoon, and the heat was building despite the partly cloudy sky, I was the only person at the site and spent a peaceful hour just hanging out watching the amazing ever changing horizon. Clouds of all sorts were drifting along– the high thin wispy clouds were moving northeast, storm clouds had gathered on the southern horizon and were sending rain showers down to drench the land. To the east, white cotton-candy clouds, reaching high into the sky slowly drifted southwest, not realizing their happy-go-lucky temperament was under threat. Directly overhead slightly gray, moisture laden clouds were also heading south towards the storm, but with a determined air to join and merge with it. The sky was alive and beautiful and I can see why some enjoy living in central Australia in the middle of nowhere; nature was in your face all of the time!
I spent the rest of the afternoon cooling off at the pool. Unfortunately the southern storm clouds found their way north by late afternoon and when I attempted to go watch the sunset that evening all I saw was rain from horizon to horizon. The next morning I got up at 5am again and headed out to the sunrise viewing platform, hoping for another repeat of the rainbow sunset from the previous day. Because the Uluru sunrise viewing is more popular than the Kata-Tjuta viewing, instead of only a handful of people, the viewing platform was crowded with nearly 100 or so. (I cannot image how many people are there in the winter, which is the high-season.). I had gotten there before the crowds and staked out a spot that allowed me to look south towards the horizon. Most of the people chose instead to look north towards the rock– probably to get a glimpse of the storied multi-colored hues projected on to the rock during sunrise (and sunset). Not many of them bothered to pay attention to the beautiful sunrise itself and I shook my head at their cluelessness.
The sunrise unfolded with a vibrant collection of oranges, reds and yellows, and was a wonderful sight, if not as dramatic as the one the day before. Alas, the rock did not reflect any light due to clouds and many left shortly after official sunrise was over. I stayed another half an hour or so to watch the changing light show as the sun continued its journey to full daylight. I suspect the angle of the sun re: reflected light on the rock is at a better angle in the winter, but I am pretty sure you can be at Uluru any time of the year and get amazing and highly variable sunrises and sunsets.
What I mean by “big sky” country. The sky goes on forever and is extremely varied.
After chilling out around the resort during the day (and doing some laundry) I reported to the lobby in the early evening for the sunrise tour and BBQ that I had signed up for. Unfortunately (again) it was raining causing the BBQ to be cancelled but the company still ran the bus out to the site, just in case the weather was better near the rock (which happens). In this case, it was still pouring down rain at the sunset viewing area and our bus driver instead took us to the rock itself so we could see the waterfalls that spontaneously appear when it rains, to drain the water that collects at the top. It has to rain a lot for the waterfalls to start so they are not easily seen. I had seen the dark streaks on the rock the day before when hiking around it and knew that was where waterfalls were located, but it was a different thing altogether to actually see water pouring down in thin, rushing ribbons of white, like icing dripping down the sides of a bundt cake. Luckily we were able to stop at a parking lot and snap a few photos of one side of the rock with its waterfalls.
An example of waterfalls cascading down one side of Uluru just after a heavy rainfall.
I had turned in my car earlier that day because the next morning I boarded a bus for the five hour drive to Alice Springs, my last stop in central Australia before heading to the west coast. I intentionally took the bus to see more of the area and was rewarded with views of more of the desert, other large rock formations emerging from the sand, craggy hills, outback ranching stations, an outback roadhouse and evidence of flash floods caused by excessive rain. And few, few people- it really is desolate in the center! The bus dropped me off at my hotel and the next morning I walked the two miles to the city center to visit some of the aboriginal art galleries that dot the town. The town of Alice Springs, population of 34,000 or so, many of which are aboriginals, is the hub of services and commerce in central Australia. It is not a large town and given it is not the peak of tourist season, did not have a lot going on. Once I toured through the galleries and got a bit to eat, I headed back to the hotel. Next: on to the west coast!
After an easy trip on the train from the Sydney airport to the city center I got settled into my Airbnb by late afternoon. I had been to Sydney several times before, but as the most recent trip was nearly a decade ago, I set out to reacquaint myself with the city. My Airbnb, located just off the Circular Quay and near the major shopping district teemed with people, both locals and tourists, out on holiday. One of the bars nearby was hosting a DJ reunion of some kind (I asked the security folks standing outside what all the noise was from) and there were quite a few colorful characters out and about. I decided to wander randomly and soon found myself in Darling Harbor. The harbor hosts restaurants, an aquarium and other tourist experiences, and in the summer, a funky outdoor theater with large couches for people to lay in to watch the featured movies on Wednesday night. I strolled down the waterfront checking out the restaurants before finding a seafood menu that tempted me. (It was awesome!). After I ate, I continued strolling down the harbor until reaching the park at the point, which I cut through to go to The Rocks.
I found an alley with a bunch of bird cages hanging in the air. Haven’t gotten to the bottom of this yet.
The Rocks is essentially the “old city” of Sydney where the initial settlers, many of them convicts, established a town. Unfortunately I was too late for the outdoor market, which closed at 5pm, but I checked out the pubs, shops and restaurants for future reference. From The Rocks I meandered over to Circular Quay and made my way back to my Airbnb to call it a day.
I headed back to The Rocks the next morning around 10:30 when the outdoor market opened to try some of the street food that always accompanies markets the world over. I had a pleasant time checking out the various stalls. One of the more interesting vendors had created a method of impregnating cotton cloth with beeswax which created a stiff material that could be used as flexible storage for fruits and vegetables as well as covers for bowls and dishes. It was unique and very clever. After going through the market I decided to walk across the Sydney Harbor bridge and spent a few moments trying to figure out where the access points were. It is possible to climb to the top of the bridge but as I am not a fan of heights and the tickets were expensive, I ruled that out—walking across the bridge would be sufficient to get the views I was looking for.
Outdoor movie theater outfitted with comfy bed/couches near Darling Harbor. There is another outdoor theater near the opera house, but not with as comfy chairs.
The harbor had a lot of traffic. Sydney has an extensive ferry system making it easy to get around the city and the ferries were constantly coming and going from Circular Quay. In addition, there were numerous private boats, ranging from large yachts to one person sailboats, dotted across the water. A huge cruise ship was docked right next to The Rocks (I saw a different cruise ship parked there every day I was in Sydney) and tugboats were moving around the harbor as well. It was busy! It did not take long to walk across the bridge, even stopping to watch the harbor activity. When I got to the other side, I checked out the small street of stores and cafes then turned around and headed back. My goal for lunch was the Sydney seafood market.
One of the fish market vendors.
It took about an hour to walk to the seafood market from the bridge, but it was a pleasant way to see more of the city. When I got to the market I found it teeming with people. The main building housed half dozen seafood retailers as well as cafes/restaurants that prepared seafood to eat on the premises. There were several other vendors who had stand-alone shops outside of the main building. The Sydney seafood market is by no means big as the Tokyo market, but nonetheless had a large amount and variety of fish and shellfish available. Every time I visit a seafood market I am astonished that we extract, every day, the amount of fish and sea creatures out of the oceans that we do. How is it possible? Having said that I contributed to the problem by buying some freshly prepared sushi and a lobster roll for lunch and both were excellent!
After my yummy fresh seafood lunch I headed over towards the shopping district to pick up a few things I needed, including a face net to protect me from flies when I go to Uluru later in my trip. I stopped to marvel at and explore the Queen Victoria building, still in its original promenade mall configuration, as I was hunting down the items I was looking for. The weather was turning, bringing with it rain and thunderstorms, so once I was finished running my errands, I headed back home.
The Queen Victoria building. Inside are four floors of promenade with small shops lining the aisles.
The following day I had lunch with a colleague who had moved to Sydney for work and planned to settle down in the city. He took me to he and his wife’s favorite café at The Rocks and we had a nice time getting caught up. He introduced me to his favorite gelato vendor, too—I never pass up gelato! After we said good-bye I took his advice and meandered over to the Barracks museum near Hyde Park. The Hyde Park Barracks is where the convicts who were working for the government lived and later it served as a home for women who immigrated and needed a place to stay. The visit was free and an audio guide is provided to walk you through the story of the people who lived there and what their lives were like. It was very interesting and if you like history, is worth a stop if you are in Sydney.
Leaving the Barracks I passed through Hyde Park and the war memorial, heading to Chinatown. Unfortunately, the large Hayes Street Market was not open (only open Wed-Sun) so I’ll have to return when I come back to Sydney before departing Australia. As I was walking back towards my Airbnb I found a place to duck in and get a much needed haircut.
Hyde Park Bararcks. Worth a visit if you are ever in Sydney.
My plan for the next day was a ferry ride to Manly Beach and hike up to the lookout at the entrance to Sydney harbor. Because it is summer, and school is out and still the holidays, the ferry to Manly was packed with people heading out to spend a day on the beach. The trip was easy— get on the ferry at Circular Quay, get off at the Manly wharf, walk straight ahead for five or so minutes and you are on the beach. Between the wharf and the beach are a ton of shops, café’s, bars and restaurants (gelato!) and people were everywhere. Manly beach is a long, broad swath of white sand and even though it was early, only 10:30 when I got there, the beach was filling up. People were surfing, boogie boarding, basking in the sun or walking along the water—a typical beach scene.
Manly Beach. Clearly very popular!
I walked down the beach to check it out before turning north to the path that led to the park with the lookout. I climbed the hill (more steps!) through a wooded area before merging with the road that led to the lookout. After about an hour, I reached the lookout and enjoyed the wonderful views of the entrance to Sydney harbor as well as the distant skyline of downtown Sydney. From the lookout it was very easy to see how spread out the city was, clinging to the waterline, following the bays and inlets, as far as the eye could see. I met a nice Australian couple who was visiting from Melbourne and after chatting a bit realized that their son and his family live near me—small world!
I walked back down to Manly beach through the old military base perched at the top near the lookout. Most of the buildings have been repurposed, turned into homes, small businesses, artist studios and a gym; it looks like a peaceful place to live. I treated myself to a gelato before buying a ticket and boarding another crowded ferry to Circular Quay. Once back in the city center I walked over to and then past the iconic Sydney opera house to check out the botanical garden, which I remembered from previous trips. It was a hot day so I sat in the shade and watched people go by for a bit before getting hungry. I found a nice restaurant along the Quay, continuing my people watching while having a glass of wine and some food.
View from the entrance to Sydney harbor back towards the city center.
I am now off to Brisbane but still have some remaining things to explore in Sydney when I return before departing the country and heading home.
After turning my camper van in I headed over to a Bed and Breakfast in the Ponsonby area of Auckland that I had booked. My plan was to stay in Auckland for a few days and explore the city before heading to Napier, where I was going to stay for the holidays. Ponsonby, located just outside the city center proper, was an area thriving with bars, boutique stores and restaurants so I decided that it would make a good staging area.
After getting settled in one of the handful of rooms in the B&B, and being hungry, I decided to venture out into the neighborhood to explore while seeking an early dinner. The main street, also called Ponsonby, was crowded with people out and about, no doubt getting their Christmas shopping done. I strolled along looking for somewhere interesting to stop. After passing a lot of Asian restaurants, of all types, I decided on Italian and had a wonderful meal. After a little bit more roaming around, stopping here or there to check out some of the unique stores in the area, I headed back to the B&B to chill out.
The next morning I mapped out a route that took me, in a round about way through some other neighborhoods, to the city center. The main plaza was dressed up for Christmas although it was weird to see a Christmas tree standing tall in hot, sunny weather. They also had a Santa’s house set up near the tree– colored white, in what I have to guess was an attempt to provide an illusion of snow. The downtown area was thriving with both locals and tourists out and about, shopping and simply enjoying the nice weather. The main ferry port, located on the harbor at the city center, was very busy as it serves as a nexus for getting out to the many islands that dot Auckland harbor. I spent the afternoon walking around and exploring all of the different areas of downtown, watching people and grabbed a bit to eat (mussels!) before heading back to the B&B in the early evening.
Christmas in summer-takes some getting used to.
The next day I decided to walk over to Mt. Eden, a dormant volcano just south of the city center that provided a great view of the surrounding area. It was about an hour walk to get to the park at the bottom of the hill (then more “up” to the top….). There were buses that could have gotten me there quicker, but I enjoyed stretching my legs and exploring more of the city. The views at the top were spectacular and I could see the sprawl that is Auckland spread out on all sides. (Auckland hosts about 1/3 of New Zealand’s population at around 1.7 million people.) It was another nice day so I spent some time at the top watching the world go by, people watching and pondering my next move. I was a bit surprised to see how many people were at the top wandering around, but had to remind myself that I was now in the middle of a big city.
After looking at my map, I decided to go visit the Auckland Museum, but take a scenic route through yet a different area, to get there. I meandered through some residential districts, passing several parks, before emerging into another shopping area, including a large mall, on Newmarket Street- reflecting New Zealand’s British heritage. The Christmas shoppers were out in force and I got through that area pretty quickly as I headed to the museum. The Auckland museum, which also hosts the war memorial on its top floor, is situated in a large park and green space on a hill (surprise!) just south of the city center. The museum was busier than I expected; tourists and local families populated all of the galleries as I slowly made my way through. I spent a lot of time learning more about the geological history of the country, having had my curiosity whetted by the small film I had seen at Tongariro Park HQ. I discovered why so many kids were present when I came across several galleries that had hands on discovery activities. I passed through those pretty quickly!! After nearly three hours in the museum I emerged in the late afternoon, plotting a course to the waterfront, planning to stop there for dinner before looping back to the B&B.
As it was late afternoon on a Sunday by the time I reached the city center by the ferry port, most of the down town area was quiet, especially compared to the day before. I walked along the waterfront, slowly making my way back towards Ponsonby, pondering the many restaurants along the way as I sorted out dinner. The marina, east of the ferry port, had some huge ships docked, a sign of how active Auckland harbor is. On one side of the marina a small area had been roped off for swimming and a large number of local kids were enjoying the water. Nearby I found a street food market and settled on some Pad Thai and a beer and sat down to enjoy the crowd. After a while the sky was looking threatening so I decided it was time to head back to the B&B (more “up”) and got back just before it started raining. I enjoyed wandering around Auckland and getting a feel for the city, but was ready to head to Napier and chill out for the holidays.
Napier, located near the southern end of Hawke’s Bay on the eastern side of the North Island, is another well-known New Zealand wine growing region. Napier is also well-known for its art deco architecture and marine parade, I booked an Airbnb in the city center near the beach for my extended holiday stay with no other plans than to relax and visit a few wineries. I was pleased with the location of the Airbnb. Even though I had a car, I could walk to grocery stores, restaurants, and the marine parade, a long walking and bicycle path along the beach, was only two blocks away. As I explored the small downtown area for the first time, there were tons of people everywhere–it turns out that Napier is a popular cruise ship stop and there were two cruise ships docked. I noticed the ebb and flow of people the whole time I was there.
View from Te Mata peak looking north to Hastings and Napier.
Knowing that lots of business and restaurants would be shut down I stocked up at the grocery store, including what I needed to make myself a nice Christmas dinner–roasted leg of lamb (when in New Zealand…) and got settled in. The next morning I decided to explore the marine parade towards the part and spent a couple of hours walking around the northern part of the beach area. When I got back to the city center I wandered into a wine bar and, as I was the only customer there, got into an extensive conversation about wine and a bit of impromptu wine tasting. She recommended several small family wineries in the area that I should visit.
One morning I headed out to climb Te Mata Peak, an approximately 1000ft tall hill about 30 minutes south of Napier. Te Mata park had numerous different trails winding through it, including one that went through a stand of redwoods. Even though I got there early, it was crowded. For those who did not want to climb to the peak, it was possible to drive up. But I wanted to hike up so I parked at the bottom. I headed out, mapping out a route that would take me through the maximum amount of redwood forest even though it meant I was going up one of the steeper routes to the peak. The redwood forest was awesome– majestic and peaceful; for some reason there were not a lot of people lingering there.
As I emerged from the forest and started ascending the hill, I saw more people, including what had to be locals– running (up)!!! The route was difficult, including one area that is apparently called the “goat track” because it is one– I was climbing up boulders on a steep incline wondering what I had gotten myself into. The path after that was narrow, basically a flat area carved out of a steep hill, but. very doable. Still not sure how people could run along it though they were; I was overtaken several times by runners. It was a hot day and it was steep and I admit I had to stop and rest and drink occasionally. Those runners were in excellent shape! I made it to the peak eventually and joined the crowd, many who had driven up, to enjoy the views. Eventually I headed down, the route down rather straightforward, to return to the car and head back to Napier.
The hike to the peak was super hilly and steep. You can kind of see a path carved out on one of the distant hills.
There was an overlook above the Napier port and one morning, rather than walking along the marine parade, I climbed the hill to take in the view of the area directly surrounding Napier. From the bird’s eye view of the port it was possible to see the large number of stacked logs waiting to get shipped out. It was also possible to get a great view of the rainbow of blue water that spread out across Hawke’s Bay. I celebrated as I climbed down the hill recognizing that was probably my last hike up a hill in New Zealand for this trip.
But in general, I did not have a huge list of things to do in Napier and my days fell into a bit of a rhythm. I really was interested in chilling out and slowing down a bit after several months of moving around. I would get up and talk an hour or two walk along the beach on the marine parade, do some work on my computer, read, wander around town, either cook or find a restaurant, read or work some more, and call it a day.
Napier waterfront. The beach was all black stone and not a good area for swimming because of strong currents. The swimming beach was slightly more north.
I spent one afternoon visiting a couple of wineries recommended by the bartender I had talked to. One of them had a musician so I had an enjoyable time sitting back with a glass of wine and listening to music. I also signed up for a wine tasting tour on New Year’s Eve day and had a great time tasting wine with some Aussies and a New Zealand couple. The city of Napier had a New Year’s Eve celebration on the marine parade (basically across the street from my Airbnb) that included bands, street vendors and fireworks which was a great way to ring in the New Year.
With the New Year came the time to say good-bye to New Zealand after almost three months of wonderful adventures. Next up–Australia!
Mt. Taranaki, a dormant stratovolcano and the second highest point on the North Island, sits towering over the town of New Plymouth, my next destination. I decided to take the longer route, directly south from Tongariro to the coast then along the coast up to New Plymouth, so that I could see more of the countryside. I made one stop at the very southern end of Tongariro National Park to see Mangawhero Falls, one of the most popular waterfalls in the park. The falls became rather well known after being used as a location for the Lord of the Rings (the scene where Gollum is fishing in a pool in Ithilien). The road to the falls was a typical, climbing, twisting and turning narrow road, which by now I was very comfortable with. The falls were easily accessible from a small nearby parking lot and since it was early in the morning, I had the area to myself. The 28m waterfall and small pool at its foot were very picturesque. After spending a little time there I got back in the camper van to head back down the hill and continue my journey. (I actually did not have to use any gas for about 10km on my return, instead coasting down the hill the whole time!)
Mangawhero Falls- should look familiar to Lord of the Rings fans…
As I continued south out of the park, the topology of the countryside remained dramatic. Severe, sharp and deep folds in the landscape, carpeted by lush green grass, left me with the impression a giant fist had grabbed the land and crumpled it up like a ball of paper before throwing it back down. Like most of my drives around the country, I desperately wanted to stop and take pictures to capture the beauty, but the roads, narrow and winding, did not allow it. Also, like other parts of the country, sheep and cattle dotted the hills, regardless of the steep slopes. I really enjoyed the drive! After about one and a half hours, the hills softened, transitioning to the gentle rolling profile that I had seen in other parts of the North Island; I was approaching the southern coastline. I stopped in Whanganui to get gas before turning west towards my goal. Forty-five minutes later I started to get my first glimpses of Mt. Taranaki (see featured image).
An example of the countryside as I drove south out of Tongariro.
The lone mountain towers over the flat plains that surround it. I had to drive around the mountain to get to New Plymouth and I was constantly distracted, trying to get views from different angles as I skirted around it Eventually I found myself in New Plymouth, a town of slightly under 100,000 and a major economic hub for the region. The city sits on the coast and is also popular for its beaches and coastal walkway. I found my campground easily, located on a beach just north of town with easy access to the walkway. After getting hooked up, I decided to stretch my legs and walked along the beachfront walking path south towards town. Evern though it was early evening, because of the warm weather (low 70’s), the beaches were crowded with people swimming, sunning and surfing. Surfing is apparently a popular sport; at one point I passed a class of students learning the basics with their parents watching from the shore. I was not the only one out enjoying the sun as I passed other walkers, joggers, and scooters along my walk.
I planned two days in New Plymouth and the weather report indicated my second day would be dominated by rain so I decided, even though it was cloudy and overcast when I woke the next morning, to do a hike. Better cloudy and overcast then rain! The hike to Pouakai Tarns, on the slope of Mt. Taranaki, was supposed to provide wonderful views of the peak but I doubted I would see much due to the low clouds that were hugging the top of the mountain. Nevertheless, I headed to the trailhead – the weather was only going to get worse the following day. The trailhead was easy to find, a short walk from the parking lot, which when I got there around 9:30am was already crowded with cars. Several hikes started from this area so I had no idea how many people were going to be on the path.
View from near the top looking down into the valley where I had hiked up from. The clouds were hugging the mountain.
Mt. Taranaki is in there somewhere…..
The trail was easy to follow as it was all boardwalk and steps. So many steps….The path basically was “up” the whole time—two hours of “up”. It never stopped. Sometimes the stairs were steep and at times the steps were staggered such that it took a few paces to reach the next rise, but the predominate direction was “up”. Eventually the trail, which slowly wound around the mountain while it climbed, broke out of the rainforest that covered the lower part of the slopes into an exposed landscape dotted with small bushes. An overlook provided a view of the surrounding area, blocked slightly by the low clouds I had been climbing to meet. When I reached the exposed area, the wind picked up and a solid mist surrounded me so I pulled out my rain jacket and kept going. Before reaching the Tarns, the trail led to a hut, available for overnight camping for those embarking on the three-day circuit hike around the mountain. My hike up had been busy, with people passing me (in both directions!) and I found a large group of people having lunch in the hut. At this point I was completely in the cloud, with no view whatsoever anywhere- not unexpected but still a bummer. I sat in the hut for a bit, warming up and snacking on some trail mix and cheese I had with me, enjoying the protection of the hut away from the cold and buffeting wet breeze. Looking out the window into, well, nothing, I decided to abort going to the Tarns (another 20 minute walk) and head down the mountain. It took me a little over half the time to go down as it did to climb up…..
Stairs! You can see how steep the trail is- look at the tiny person down near the bottom. He was not that far away from me.
After the intense workout from the hike I decided to treat myself to a nice lunch/dinner and after doing a bit of research found a micro-brewery in New Plymouth that looked promising. The beer and lamb short ribs were excellent!
After a day of hanging out in the van reading, having flashbacks to the cold and wet weather I experienced in the South Island, I headed out to my next, and final, stop with the camper van, Waitomo. Waitomo, a small village with a population of around 1300 people, is famous for the glowworm caves that blanket the area. I had visited one in 1990 and was eager to repeat the experience but with a visit to a different cave. The campground was in the middle of the village, which consisted of four or so buildings—all in some way related to touring caves or supporting tourists who came to tour caves. I got a great rundown of the different cave tours when I checked in to the campground. There were a lot of options—hike through a cave, tour in a boat, drift through a cave on an innertube, whitewater raft through the cave, etc. I picked a tour that was a three-and-a-half-hour excursion combining walking and inner tube travel; essentially it was a caving tour and a bit sportier than some of the others.
The next morning I drove to the family farm where the cave was located which included traversing 10km of a narrow gravel road. The tour size is limited to six guests but our group was only four people, the other three being locals who finally decided to explore what was essentially in their backyard. We got kitted out with thick dry suits, hard hats with lights, and rubber boots then set off for the 10-minute walk to the cave entrance. I had my glasses on a croakie to ensure I did not lose them if for some reason they fell off. After the obligatory “before” picture at the entrance, we climbed down 40ft ladder that had been installed in a vertical shaft. I was first, so at the bottom I stepped aside, grabbing the guide rope that was attached to one of the walls. I waited in the large chamber, standing in about an inch of water, until everyone descended, our guide coming last.
The large chamber with some great formations. (Our guide brought lights to stage the photo)
The adventure began! Our guide moved up front and, holding on to the rope with our left hands we followed him down a narrow channel, weaving around rock formations that blocked our path. After a bit we came to the first of several tight passages that we would negotiate during the tour. The first passage had two potential paths—one where it was possible to crawl, the other where it was necessary to slide through on your belly. One person took the crawling path, the rest of us chose the more difficult route. As we emerged on the other side of the constriction, we were in deeper water, and it wasn’t long before I had water in my boots. (We had socks on—I brought my merino wool socks I had bought in the South Island.)
Even though we were walking in deeper water, the footing was still precarious as large rocks were hidden in the depths. I moved carefully and kept a hand on the wall when possible, to help with balance (after the constriction there was no rope). We encountered several other constrictions that required contortions to get through, including one where it was necessary to go sideways through a small space then lean back and float on your back through a very low ceiling. Once through that area, I was fully treading water and swimming for a bit until the water became shallow enough to stand. Yes, the water was cold and the first shock of it entering my suit caught my attention but the wet suit was thick enough that my body heat soon warmed the water and I did not notice (until the next surge of cold water got in…..). At one point our guide had us put our hand on the shoulder of the person in front of us, turn off our lights, and he led us through the dark passageway. We were surrounded by glow worms and I was impressed at, collectively, how much light they were throwing off as I could see faint outlines of people and walls.
Standing in the water (did not have to swim at this part). The wet suit worked really well!!
I have no idea how long we were in the cave before we came to a section where they had inner tubes staged for us to climb on. Once mounted and laying across the inner tubes, we hooked our feet under the arms of the person in front of us, turned off our lights, and our guide pulled us through the main channel of the cave using a rope that had been affixed to the wall. This was a very special experience, sitting in the dark, the only noise from water rushing through a distant chamber, slowly moving through a vast canopy of glow worms populating the ceiling and walls of the channel. But for the sound of water echoing through the chamber, it would be difficult to tell that you were not outside looking at a starry sky. Magical!
After we got to the end of the channel, our guide had us wait while he returned the inner tubes to the beginning for the next group. We then continued, navigating tricky footing, climbing over rocks and contorting our limbs to get through tight places until we came to a large chamber with well formed stalactites and stalagmites, where we posed for photos. (Our guide had some small lights in his backpack for background lights.). A few more traverses required swimming before we reached the end of the tour, emerging from the cave by simply walking through a large hole at the bottom of the hill from their headquarters. It was a fantastic tour and to top it off, they had hot tubs available for any who wanted to take a dip before leaving (I did!). I had never had an opportunity to go caving and am really glad I selected this tour!!!!
On the way back to the campground I stopped at the Ruakuri Caves car park to do the short loop hike through the area. Access to the cave was by tour only, but the loop hike had some amazing scenery. The whole Waitomo area sits on top of limestone, hence the large number of caves, and the trail wandered past and through numerous tunnels and gorges that had been carved out by swiftly flowing water. There were not that many people on the trail, as many were focused on entering the cave, and I had an enjoyable time meandering around admiring the rock formations and the rainforest. After a little over an hour I headed back to the camper van and the campsite to take a shower, relax, and prepare to turn in the camper van the following day as I headed back to Auckland. My vagabond existence on the North Island was at an end.
The Tongariro National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the Tongariro Crossing has been named the best one-day hike in New Zealand and among the top ten in the world. Experiencing this hike was on the top of my list when I was planning my trip to New Zealand. It is a challenging 12-mile hike that weaves its way through the volcanic landscape surrounding Mts. Ngauruhoe, Tongariro, and Ruapehu. (By the way, for the Lord of the Rings fans—Mt. Doom was played by Mt. Ngauruhoe so I was going to be hiking around Mt. Doom!!!) The trail gains 765 meters of elevation and descends 1125 meters when hiked from Mangatepopo to Ketatahi, which is the route I would be taking. It is not just steep ascents and descents that hikers must be prepared for, but also the extreme changeability of the weather. To do the hike it is necessary to have transportation that drops you off at the start and picks you up at the finish—the car parks at both ends have a four-hour limit; the hike takes anywhere from 6-8 hours. Consequently, shuttles are available as well as guided tours that cover transportation. I decided to book a guided tour both from a safety viewpoint, as a solo hiker, and I thought it would be more fun to walk with a group. Every evening the NZ Department of Conversation (DOC) provides a weather alert for the crossing for the following day, issuing a “not recommended” or an “OK”. If they issue a “not recommended” shuttles do not operate and most people do not have access to the trail. The guided tours still can attempt the hike, however. Apparently the system is set up to keep unprepared, unmonitored people off the mountain when the weather is dynamic.
I arrived at the tour office at the appointed time, 8am, with high expectations that we would make the attempt. I had checked the weather the night before and the predictions were for a sunny day with high clouds. Our tour guide told us that strong winds were expected in the afternoon and her goal was to get the group past the red crater and summit (the most exposed parts) by noon or so—but there was always the chance we would have to head back if the winds hit early. My gear passed muster and I checked out a set of hiking poles, knowing they would come in handy for the downhill part of the trek. After everyone went through the same process—gear check, get supplied with what was missing—our group of 12 (including our guide) loaded up in the van for the 25 minute drive to the drop off point.
This sign meant the shuttle busses were not running and that there were not going to be many people on the trail. We went….
At the start of the hike. Don’t I look super energetic?!
At the drop off point, I was surprised to find the “not recommended” alert at the trail start. Our guide explained that the DOC based their conclusions on the expected high winds and reiterated that we would be keeping a careful eye on the weather. However, luckily for us, the “not recommended” meant that there would be MUCH fewer people on the trail with us so it worked out great for us. (Our guide mentioned that there can be up to 900 people on the trail in the summer on a good day—Yikes!)
We got started around 8:45am and the first few kilometers were flat as the trail lead us into the ravine; the climb would start when we got to the walls. We set a brisk pace, knowing we were trying to beat the wind at the summit. I was waiting for the “up”, having read about the Devil’s staircase and the open, exposed climb to the summit, and hoping that I was prepared enough (training on “up” during all the other hikes I had been doing on my trip).
DOC sign at the bottom of the Devil’s staircase, the start of the climbing. Their attempt to cull the herd…
At the top of the Devil’s staircase. In the background is where we climbed up from.
After about an hour and a half we reached the staircase. I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to match the pace our guide set and also that the stairs were in no way as hard as the torturous, never-ending set of stairs I encountered during my kauri grove walk in Coromandel. I was very excited when we got to the top! At the top we found ourselves in a large, kilometer(ish) wide crater. The trail headed straight across to our next climb to the rim of the red crater, the summit of the trail. Most people find the Devil’s Staircase to be the most challenging climb, but for me the final, short, steep climb to the summit of the hike was the most difficult. The trail narrowed and led directly up a ridiculously steep incline where it was necessary to slowly and carefully pick a path upwards along packed dirt track through embedded rocks and boulders. Carefully selecting your path was especially important because of the sheer drop off on both sides of the narrow path; I felt very exposed and kept my head down and focused on my feet!
The nice flat area in the crater just after the Devi’s staircase and before the exposed climb to the summit.
An example of the lava fields we walked through.
One final warning sign after the Devil’s staircase before the exposed climb to the summit. Another attempt to scare those who are struggling already.
The red crater, a deep jagged hole in the ground ringed with red deposits, was quite dramatic, especially with Mt. Doom (!) in the background. Actually, the whole time I was well aware that not only was I hiking in a beautiful volcanic setting, but also, at another level, was walking through Mordor!! The views from the crater were amazing, offering a 360 degree panorama of the surrounding countryside- the ever-present Mt. Ngauruhoe just beyond the red crater, an expansive view of the plateau we had just climbed from, and looking forward several volcanic lakes and the long trail down. I was so happy we had made it!
The red crater, which is exactly what it says– a deep pit crater, red in color. We were very exposed to the wind on this ridge.
We were very exposed on the rim of the crater and the wind was definitely picking up, but was not near a level that concerned Camilia (our guide) so we continued forward. The descent off of the crater rim was the most technically difficult part of the hike. Like the final climb, the trail narrowed with steep drop offs on either side, but instead of a dirt track embedded with rocks and boulders, the trail was composed of scree- loose pebbles and small rocks. Scree slopes can be tricky to traverse, both up and down, as the small rocks act like marbles, creating a treacherous footing condition. I had dealt with a scree slope descending Mt. Kilamanjaro many years earlier, but that slope had deeper deposits of rock (easier to dig into with your heel and get some traction) and was very wide (no threat of falling off the side of the path). I was very happy to have my poles and carefully picked my way down the slope, managing to only fall once, backward onto my pack. Some were taking a more adventurous approach, traversing the slope quickly, moving with the resultant rock slides. I am not sure what the better method was…. As we descended the wind had noticeably gotten stronger and we were glad to have the summit behind us.
Me at the summit. You may be able to tell that I am bending my knees and hunkering down to fight the wind.
At the bottom of the scree slope, we sheltered behind some large boulders near one of the volcanic lakes and took a break for lunch. I pulled on my rain jacket for wind protection before we headed out after our break. We were now headed down and even though the trail was not difficult, we still had four to five hours of hiking ahead of us. The trail meandered past several small other volcanic lakes, pristine and brilliant blue, before hugging the side of the mountain to switchback its way down. Before I turned the corner I glanced back one final time to Mt. Doom, having enjoyed hiking with it looming over us.
A view looking up at the scree path (light gray) we had just come down. Notice how narrow it is.
As we started our descent, a few people in our group were experiencing cramps and tired legs and slowed down a bit. Our guide hung back with those that needed to slow down, but several of us continued at a normal pace, waiting at different checkpoints for the tail end of the group. The last hour or so of the hike was through a lovely forest along a small stream and was an excellent way to wind down after our exertions. After about a 20 minute wait at the car park the rest of the group emerged and we loaded the van and headed back to the tour office to turn in any borrowed gear. It was an EXCELLENT day!
View looking forward at the summit. Small beautiful blue alpine lakes were our next stop as we descended.
At the blue lake.
Lake Taupo in the distance, easily visible as we crossed the ridge and started down the other side.
The path down was a long, gentle descent. We were also shielded from the wind, which was a bonus!
Done! I still had (some) energy left….
Before I hit the road for Lake Taupo, I had one remaining stop in Rotorua. Apparently about 100 years or so ago, some redwood tree saplings were brought over from California and planted near Rotorua, with the intent to harvest them later for lumber. The redwoods, which adapted well to the New Zealand climate, are still there, quite large, and part of a protected forest near the city. Several walking and mountain biking trails wind through the forest and I wanted to explore. Finding the visitor’s center and carpark was fairly easy as it was only a few kilometers outside of the city center and an enterprising adventure company had built a treetop walk experience nearby. I was not interested in walking on elevated pathways, however, and after checking out all the available hikes, selected a two hour long walk that would meander in and out of the redwoods and also provide an overlook view of the city and lake. The trees were majestic and it was utterly silent as I wove my way through the grove on the winding path. It was not until I emerged from the redwoods and started to climb up a gravel road that I started running into people, especially the mountain bikers. Luckily the mountain bike trails soon split off from the main trail so I did not have to worry about getting running over! The overlook was nice and gave me a chance to get a birds-eye view of Rotorua. As I finished the walk, drifting through the redwood grove once more, I almost did not want to leave as it was so peaceful. But it was time to get on the road to Lake Taupo, my stop for the next few days.
A small part of the redwood grove. I have not yet been to see the California redwoods, but it is on my list. So stately…so peaceful….
The road to Lake Taupo was the straightest and easiest to drive that I have found so far in New Zealand. The gentle rolling hills did not require the road to follow twisting and turning topography like elsewhere in the country- instead it just punched right through. The usual sheep and cattle herds dotted the countryside as I continued south. About half-way to Lake Taupo I detoured off the main highway to visit one final thermal spring. Orakei Korako is a smaller geothermal area and often overlooked, but nonetheless has a lot of activity, including a cave and boiling mud pools. After buying a ticket, you get on a boat for a short ride across a small lake and dropped off to explore the park at your own pace. There were only a handful of people there when I arrived so I felt like I had the whole place to myself. Similar to the other parks there were brilliant orange, yellow and red mineral deposits spread over broad areas of the terrain, creating a bright splash of color. There were also several small geysers that were continually spraying superheated water, a testimony to the underground activity in the area. The boiling mud was very viscous and made deep gurgling and plopping sounds as the hot gases and steam fought their way out. I spent a little over an hour wandering around watching the dynamics, still amazed at the sheer amount of geothermal activity that stretches across the central part of the North Island.
The mineral deposits at the various geothermal areas continue to amaze me with their colors and variety.
There was a lot of active bubbling and geysers happening at Orakei Korako. More so than at the other two thermal parks I visited.
A thick, viscous boiling mud pool. So weird…
My next stop, just outside of Lake Taupo, was Huka Falls, a small, but powerful waterfall known for its pretty blue and white colors. There was a trail from Lake Taupo that led to the falls (about an hour walk) but I decided to simply park in the car park and walk over to the bridge to see it. Since the falls are so accessible it was fairly crowded, but I was still able to get a good view. Some had chosen to book a boat ride or jet boat excursion to the bottom of the falls and it looked like they were definitely getting wet!
Huka Falls. The falls were not big, but they were mighty- there was a lot of water flowing through the narrow channel.
I easily found my campground and settled in for the evening, enjoying the tree covered site. After doing a bit of research I planned out the next day—a hike up Mt. Tuahara. Mt. Tuahara, a dormant volcano, is located slightly south of Lake Taupo and is a popular hike. The summit, at 1088m, provides an excellent view of the city and the lake, which is the largest lake in New Zeland. That is the good news. The bad news is the trail is only 2.5km, so the hike is a constant, steep climb. For me the hike killed two birds with one stone—I would get great views of the area and good training for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing hike that I planned to do later in the week. Mentally fortified and with my full backpack (training!) I headed up the trail. The first 20 minutes were a steep climb up pastureland before entering the forest. Once in the forest the trail alternated between gently rising to abruptly rising, but the climbing never stopped. I took my time, resting frequently and slowly navigating the roots and boulders that occasionally had to be scampered over. At one point a guy, about my age, passed me practically running up the hill. I took one look at him and figured this was a daily or weekly exercise because of how effortless he made it look. I gritted my teeth and kept going. About an hour later, I met him on the way down (I was still going up) and asked him if he did the hike often. Turns out he is a local firefighter, and their squad does the trail twice a week to stay in shape (I felt better about my pace…..). We chatted for a while, he told me I was near the top and I continued on my way up.
Sure enough, 15 minutes or so later, I reached the summit. I made my way to the rocky outcropping that faced the lake, sat down, had lunch and chilled out for about 40 minutes. Unfortunately, it was a little hazy due to some fires up in Tongariro National Park, but I could see the lake, the city and just barely the distant peaks of Mt Ruapehu and Mt Ngauruhoe, active volcanos located in the park. Even so, though, the view was spectacular and worth the effort it took to get to the top. It took me much less time to get back down to the car park, even treading carefully over the roots and boulders I had had to climb up. By the time I got back to Lake Taupo, half the day was gone and I was hungry, so I parked on the shore of the lake near the city center and went in search of a late lunch/early dinner while also running a few errands I needed to complete. Back at the campground I settled in, got out my camp chair and relaxed for the evening.
Lake Taupo was an intermediate stop on the way to my next adventurous location—Tongariro National Park and one of the most celebrated day hikes on the planet—the Tongariro Alpine Crossing (which gets its own blog post). The drive to my campground, near the park’s visitor center, took a bit longer than I hoped. The direct route was closed due to the wildfires that had sprouted up the day before. Consequently, I had to go around the lake to the west side of the park and then south to the visitor’s center (as opposed to simply driving directly southwest). The drive made for a longer day, but on the positive side, I got to see more of the country…..
Once I got to the park I headed directly to the visitor’s center in the Whakapapa Village to check out the trail maps and see what else there was to see. I got distracted for a bit in the visitor’s center theater watching a movie explaining the volcanic activity around New Zealand that was very informative. Finishing that, I found the information on the hike I was looking for- a two-hour loop track to Taranaki Falls that started at the visitor-s center—and set out. The landscape was scrub and rocks with pockets of forest/jungle nestled into folds in the hills. Inevitably I found myself climbing up and down (more stairs!) as I slowly worked my way around to the falls. I passed quite a lot of people, and it seemed many were walking the loop in the opposite direction than I was.
Taranaki Falls, a short hike from the visitor’s center.
The falls were quite tall, with a small pool at the bottom. Several of the hikers were taking advantage of the hot day and the cool water to have a dip in the pool. The water was quite cold so I was not tempted to join them! Instead, I sat for a while and watched, while I had a snack and some water. Eventually I continued on my way, completing the loop and arriving back to the car park. It was an easy drive from there to my campground for the next three nights.
The drive from Hahia to Rotorua was long, in New Zealand terms, at 220km and three hours. I broke it up at Paeroa, however, stopping to visit Helen (who I met in Cromwell-see that blog post) for an hour. She had asked if I could stay to dinner, but I declined, knowing I would get into Rotorua too late to check in at the campground. Leaving Paeroa, however, I did make one additional stop on the way after saying goodbye to Helen. My route passed by the Karangahake gorge, which was an old gold mining site. The gorge still had old equipment scattered around and a bunch of hiking trails marked with signage explaining the history of the area. As an added benefit, some of the trails went through mining tunnels! So I decided a stop to stretch my legs and explore the trails was a great idea.
As I parked, I noticed a huge number of large groups standing around in what appeared to be organized tours. I headed for the trail that had the tunnels on it, trying to get ahead of the groups, and decided to walk about an hour down the trail and then return- I still had a long drive to Rotorua to complete! The trail crossed two swinging bridges spanning the two rivers that met at the intersection of where the mining camp had been positioned. The gorge was deep, and the river raced between narrow, steep, walls. The miners built the three-story processing building directly into the side of the mountain, and some of the foundations remain. As I walked through the remains of the mining infrastructure, stopping to read the history, I kept running into more of the large groups—clearly there was a big tour happening. The walkways were narrow so foot traffic jams were constant.
The gorge. The mining facilities were built right into the steep walls, along with tunnels and rail.
The tunnels were cool (literally!) with moisture dripping off the walls. The rail tracks for the mining cars were still in place and puddles formed in between the railroad ties, requiring attention to footing. Flashlights were a must to go through the tunnel although I got by with the light on my cell phone. The walls were rough cut and occasionally wood beams had been placed for reinforcement of the walls and ceiling. I had a moment to myself in one of the tunnels and turned off my light and was immediately surrounded by inky darkness; I am sure miners used to carry spare matches and lights! In a few places other tunnels branched off the main trail, but when I followed them, I found locked gates, keeping the public out of unsafe areas. I emerged on the other side of the tunnels and walked for another 30 minutes, contemplating turning around when I came upon a women with a radio standing by the side of the path. We started talking and that was when I found out why there were so many large groups running around. Apparently, there is going to be a big convention in Auckland (of Jehovah witnesses, go figure) and one of the sightseeing trips planned is a tour of the gorge. So, the tour organization was doing a dry-run, shepherding the same number of people and groups around the trails to wring out their process. She was one of the many people stationed at different places along the trail to keep an eye on things. We had a nice conversation, and I headed back. The walk back took me a little less than an hour as I did not stop to read the signs and many of the groups had finished.
Entrance to one of the tunnel sections that the trail went through. Lights are required! You can’t see the other side of the tunnel all the time.
By the time I got to Rotorua, via several detours, due to closed roads and construction, I was done driving for the day. My three-hour drive had turned into a close to four-hour drive so when I got to the campground, I plugged the van in, got out my camp chair and sat in the sun and planned my activities for Rotorua. Rotorua sits in the middle of a large geothermally active area that stretches from the Bay of Plenty in the northeast down to the volcanos in the center of the North Island near Lake Taupo. Consequently, there are a lot of hot springs, geysers and other ground water activity around the city. I visited Rotorua in 1990, during my first visit to New Zealand, but since it has been 35 years, I decided to visit some of the same areas I had before. Another popular activity in Rotorua is to visit one or more of the many Māori cultural centers. The Māori have been in the area for hundreds of years and the current population is about 40% Māori.
First thing the next morning I headed south to visit the Waimangu Volcanic Valley, about 20 minutes from Rotorua. The volcanic rift valley was formed in 1886 when Mt. Tarawera erupted unexpectedly. The eruption created Frying Pan Lake, the largest hot spring in the world and increased the size of the nearby Lake Rotomahana by twenty times. The walking trail at the site lead through the rift valley and craters created by the eruption, ending at the lake, allowing me to follow the story of the eruption. I decided to add the optional boat tour of Lake Rotomahana to my ticket and get the whole experience. Of the three geothermal parks I visited (more on the other two later), I have to say that Waimangu was my favorite because I was walking through the craters/rift valley and could easily picture what had happened. It was also extremely interesting to see the different stages the vegetation has gone through to return to the area.
Frying Pan Lake. That is steam (not mist) coming off the lake.
The area is still very active and not only did Frying Pan Lake have steam coming off it, but random spots in the surrounding rocky cliffs also had active venting. Different mineral deposits stained the rock white, yellow, orange and pink and occasionally I could see water bubling up. The pictures can only provide a minimal insight into the experience. What pictures cannot convey is the heat from the vents, the pervasive smell of sulfur and the cacophony of bubbling, gurgling and hissing from the disturbed water. It seemed like the very Earth was talking. It took about an hour and a half to walk, downhill into the rift valley the whole way, from the visitor center to the boat dock on Lake Rotomahana; it was an interesting and enjoyable walk. The boat tour made a circuit of the lake, including a closer view of the eruption craters on Mt. Tawawera, another crater formed as part of the lake and shoreline geysers. An easy bus ride back to the visitor center was the end of the tour.
Here is an example of a small active geyser and also some of the colors that are created by mineral deposits.
I had booked a Māori cultural experience with dinner included that evening but as I still had a few hours before I had to be at the bus pickup in the city center, I decided to go to soak in some hot springs. I wandered over to the Polynesian Spa, located on the edge of Lake Rotorua, which had numerous public and private springs available—both slightly acidic and slightly alkaline ranging from temperatures of 100F to 106F. It was a warm afternoon and thus the public area was not crowded so I remained there, bouncing from one spring to another before finding one I liked. It was peaceful and I spent a couple of hours there before heading to the shower to get ready for my evening event. My timing was perfect because as I was leaving, larger tourist groups were starting to arrive, so it was about to be a bit more crowded!
Random spots around Lake Rotomahana have active vents. Apparently there are active vents under the deep lake.
We had a full bus for the evening cultural experience and dinner. After about a 15-minute drive south out of Rotorua, we arrived at the Māori village complex. Our tour guide had selected our “Chief” and I knew what to expect for a greeting ceremony based on my experience at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds earlier. There were several more individuals involved in the greeting ceremony than had been at the Treaty Grounds, but the process was the same- an intimidating greeting, followed by an offering of peace, accepted by our “Chief”, then we were invited into the village. Once there we got split into smaller groups and roamed from learning station to learning station which covered the haka (and yes, we got taught the moves), home and family, warrior training, and song and dance. We also were served various tasty appetizers as we rotated. After everyone had experienced all of the stops, we were led to the meeting hall where the group performed some native songs and dance, including a haka with both women and men. I thoroughly enjoyed the event!
The greeting/challenge that kicked the night off. Our “Chief” had to pick up the offered branch to show our peaceful intentions before we were invited in.
Our dinner included food prepared the traditional way (altered to meet NZ public health standards…) having been cooked underground on hot rocks and steamed for several hours. The meal was excellent consisting of salad, mussels, lamb, beef, tons of veggies, and dessert. I was pleasantly stuffed and after getting back to the campground and plugging in my van, headed directly to sleep.
The next morning I visited Wiaotapu Thermal Wonderland, another geothermal site. As I walked around it, I remembered parts of it from my visit decades ago—mainly because the mineral deposits were so colorful and numerous actively bubbling pools and fissures. The champaign pool, a deep blue pool with an orange mineral crust around the edges, is especially memorable. Steam rose from the water and along the edges there was a constant fizzing of small bubbles frothing at the surface just like – a glass of champaign….Wiaotapu also had several boiling mud pools, the deep viscous mud creating deep, throaty gurgles as the steam fought its way to the surface. The numerous deep craters hosted fissures at the bottom that revealed themselves by the hiss of the steam forcing its way out of a confined space. And again, everywhere was the smell of sulfur. (As a matter of fact, even in the city center and at the campground I would get whiffs of sulfur on the breeze.) After a couple of hours wandering around watching nature in action, I ran a few errands and then set off for my next adventure—a visit to Hobbiton.
Close up of the CO2 bubbling up around the edges of Champaign Pool (see featured picture).
This pond is hot with a pH of 2. Not recommended for a swim!
Lake Ngakoro, where the water from Waiotapu hot springs drain, stays warm enough to host algae growth, hence the striking green color.
Anyone who is a Lord of the Rings fan knows that the trilogy, and the three Hobbit movies, where filmed extensively in New Zealand. One of the most well-known sites is the film set for Hobbiton, created from scratch in the middle of a farmer’s field near the small town of Matakana. The topography, green gentle rolling hills, attracted the location scout’s attention during a helicopter ride over the area. To build Hobbiton they had to move tons of dirt to sculpt the area to the movie vision, a road to get everyone into the site, then the hobbit holes and gardens. It was a massive effort. After filming the Lord of the Rings, most of the set was removed, but when it was time to film the Hobbit, it all had to be re-created. This time when the filming was completed, the set remained—and became a HUGE tourist attraction. Being a Lord of the Rings fan since I was little girl, I had to go…..
Gandalf! At the Hobbiton visitor center where the tours leave from.
The tour experience is a well-oiled machine. You check in at the visitor center and are put on a bus to take you to the site, about a ten-minute drive. Tours leave every ten minutes and from start to finish requires 2.5 hours. I asked our tour guide and they typically host 2300 people a day in the summer months, much fewer in the winter, although they are open. The bus drops you off on the road into Hobbiton where Gandalf meets Frodo at the beginning of the first movie. We received some information on how the filming was done to compensate for the fact that the actors were not, indeed, hobbits and smaller than others. But as we came around the bend in the road, Hobbiton spread out in front of us—hobbit holes everywhere. The team running the site spends a lot of time keeping things maintained down to the last detail, even adding hobbit holes occasionally. For example, there are hobbit holes for a baker, cheesemaker, wheel right, dairy, town drunk, fishermen- basically anything you might find in a village. Bilbo’s tree and the party green, the mill house and the Green Dragon Inn are all represented. Most of the hobbit holes are facades, the interior shots having been filmed on a film stage elsewhere. However, two hobbit holes had interiors completed, mainly for the sake of the tours, but it was kind of fun because we got to go in. The tour ended with a beverage of your choice (beer or soda) at the Green Dragon Inn before getting on a bus to go back to the visitor center. So I can say I’ve been to Hobbiton (more or less).
Visiting Frodo and Bilbo at Bag’s End. Unfortunately this is one of the hobbit holes that is just a facade.
However, we could go in to another hobbit hole, which was remarkably roomy and incredibly detailed in its furnishing. Easy to imagine someone living there.
An hour’s drive got me back to the campground for my last night in Rotorua and I was dismayed to find yet another school group staying (and running around everywhere) so I expected to be up early the next morning for my drive to my next stop-Lake Taupo.
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