Solo! Got to Mt. Doom on 1/2 tank of gasoline!
Solo! It is great traveling with friends, partners, and groups, but sometimes solo is best! So many places to go and see! Where do I start? The nice thing about New Zealand is that it is small! It takes about ~3 hours to drive width wise from one side of the North island to the other. It only took me less than a 1/2 tank of gasoline to get to Mt. Doom – it took Frodo ~6 months. I am glad I didn’t have to walk, get captured by the orcs, get hurt, recover, and get my finger bitten off. Time to plan the hiking trips!!
Lake Rotorua, Rotorua museum, and gardens: It is nice to see a lot of people enjoying the gardens!
The Redwoods (Whakarewarewa Forest): I know where all the locals take their dogs and kids! I know it is ironic, I live near coastal redwoods (tallest trees in the world)! Since the trees grow faster here, the information plaque state that the wood is softer. I like the light and bathroom designs. The lights were inspired by the shapes of 3 different birds in New Zealand.
Buried Village: I didn’t believe one of my uncles when he said a tree grew where the fence posts were. The stump of the tree below grew from a fence post.
Te Puia: Geothermal park with a local weaving and woodworking school. One of the longest words in New Zealand – Te Whakarewarewatangaoteopetauaawahiao. There is a funny utube on some of the longest names on the news. I like the kiwi sign telling people not to take pictures of the kiwi birds.
Whakatane: One of the beaches in New Zealand. Kilometers of beach! It is amazing on much beach is exposed during low tide. Beautiful!
Tongariro National Park: Iconic Chateau, the Tongariro alpine crossing, Northern alpine circuit (one of the 9 Great walks in New Zealand). There are 3 volcanic peaks: Mt Tongariro, Mt. Ngauruhoe (Mt. Doom), and Mt. Ruapehu.
- Alpine crossing: It was a very cloudy day and there are a lot of people hiking this route. The recommendation I got was to go to the park before 7am (if you want a parking space) and hike to the top and back, since I didn’t make a shuttle reservation to pick me up on the other side. My best pictures were on the hike down. There are rows and rows of hikers! Basically you could not see emerald lake, Mt. Doom, Mt Ruapehu, red crater, etc. It started to clear up in the afternoon and I was back at my hotel, showered, and taking a nap by then!
- Northern Alpine circuit: The only hiking hut available was Waihohonu Hut. Several days of hiking is great, the trails were well marked and the weather was perfect. The trails winds between Mt. Tongariro and Mt. Doom. There are random benches on the hike. I had the best lunch spot overlooking a crater. I had to meet Viv and Katie (New Zealanders I met in Vietnam and Cambodia) for high tea at the chateau on the last day! I hope they didn’t mind me not showering for several days when I met them. Great way to end the hike! I probable saw less then a dozen hikers on this part of the trail. New Zealanders call hiking, tramping.
Waitomo Caves and walk: Waitomo is also known as glowworm caves. The glowworms in the cave are actual gnats, Arachnocampa lumiosa, that are luminescent in the larva stage (which lasts 6-12 months). It is amazing how long they live. Common house fly lives for ~28 days.
Otorohanga Kiwi House: Kiwi‘s are nocturnal and you can’t take a picture of them, because the flash hurts their eyes. The thing that I though was very interesting about them is that the size of their egg is as large as a emu egg, but the kiwi is very small in comparison. A picture of a tautara is below.
Bye New Zealand. I had a great time and I didn’t realize there were so many hiking and biking trails here! The fresh produce is really good. The baked goods and the green lip mussel are yummy! I could spend several more months here. The people are great and very nice! I met a older kiwi couple at one of the hiking huts, they are still hiking, he runs marathons, amazing! People are very inspiring! Viv and Katie were great, they met me in Wellington and at the Chateau for high tea for a couple of hours! Katie good luck with your studies! Viv see you in the US sometime!