North Island NZ Part II: 'Challenge accepted'

Hello everyone!

SAY, dear readers, I have been gone for over five months now! It was still crazy and indescribable! Despite the struggles that come with it. FANTASTIC experience and especially grateful 🙏💖!

Had to share this with you guys.

Hit the road back to New Plymouth, a city on the west coast in the Taranaki region. Sharon, the host, allowed me to arrive whenever I wanted. Calimero took more than three hours. I didn't tell you about my two other important travel companions yet. Well, haha one of them is my power bank and the other my small box from Lexon. Without them, the trip would have been less fun. That way I could keep taking pictures unlimitedly, occasionally turn on Studio Brussels or listen to my music in the car.

I left Calimero on the driveway for a moment to set course for the 'Coastal walk' towards the city centre. Yes, of course I stopped somewhere for a nice cappuccino. Kiwis have a coffee culture, as a coffee lover I can only be happy about that. I found the city rather bizarre or out of a movie scene. It was not super small, but with bizarre shops and rather desolate. I made a small detour through the 'Pukekura Park', the jewel of the centre. In this beautiful park I came across lakes, bridges, hundreds of plants, bushes, walking paths and much more. My stomach started to rumble. Since I love Asian cuisine, I went to eat Thai. You can find Thai everywhere in the world and it is always good. And then too.

The next morning I was woken up by some noise in the kitchen. That's why I thought: 'get up'. Sharon was that early bird! Our morning chat was nice and cozy! It was good to have a deeper conversation with someone. I got energy from social contacts. When Sharon went to work, I drove Calimero to Taranki or Egmont Mount. This high majestic dormant volcano looms like a cone and is sacred to the Maori. I thought I would take a walk there but the path was unclear, there were works and it didn't seem without danger. So I decided to go back and visit the 'Te Rewa Rewa bridge'. Te Rewa Rewa bridge is special because of its unique design. I tried to photograph that monumental bridge but that didn't work out so well. From the Airbnb I strolled into town to browse around and have dinner. On my way I came across Govet-Brewster Art Gallery, unfortunately it was closed. This building stands out because of its architectural mirror panels. Hehe, click click click with that phone. In the evening I went to that nice Thai food again. Sharon was home when I came in. And again we had an interesting nice conversation. What a great ending of the day!

Sadly I had to say goodbye to Sharon to continue my roadtrip to the middle of the island, Motuopa. That day I visited 'Huka Falls' nearby. These are a series of waterfalls on the Waikato River that drains into Lake Taupo. Wow, this water had an opal blue color and from the bridge I could see it rushing past me through a narrow black gorge. Impressive how powerful it was.

On my way back I did a short hike along the gigantic Lake Taupo. Here too the water looked crystal clear. In the evening I stopped in Taupa for a short walk and some groceries. I was not late back at the Airbnb because I felt like plopping down on the couch. I even saw a movie! For the next day I had to make a plan and do some research. I booked a shuttle bus online for departure at the arrival of the ' Tongariro Alpine Crossing '. This is a walking route in the ' Tongariro National Park ' of 19.4 km. It runs over volcanic terrain through a dramatic landscape. The area and the volcano played a major role in the movie ' Lord of the Rings '. Mordor and Mount Doom were illustrated here.

At eight in the morning I started at 'Mangatepapa Road'. The walk started with a steep climb. Somewhere a few kilometers higher I came across a special waterfall, falling from the lava rock-like rocks! Not much later and higher up on the glacier valleys the weather had changed to freezing cold, drizzling rain and a lot of wind. Because of this the walk was not so pleasant after an hour. The view of the craters was also hidden by a layer of clouds. Actually I just wanted to walk on and get out of that hellish cold weather as soon as possible. But when I passed the lively crater lakes I had to stop at both! Wow, the lakes had an exceptionally bright emerald green color! Fortunately the sun came out for a moment, just in time to take a few pictures. My hands were frozen stiff and because of that it was more of a task than a pleasure for the perfect pic. I had to motivate myself: 'Come on Helena, keep going and don't dawdle now... it's too cold'. Once over the Noorder crater the clouds were gone and the sun came out. Wow, that heat did me good! It took a while before I was warmed up again. All the way down I walked between the beautiful alpine vegetation, old rock formations and I had a breathtaking view of the beautiful hills and Lake Taupo. The last part of this strange route was through the forest along a river. Its sound made this place peaceful and pleasant. Around one o'clock in the afternoon I was back at the Ketetahi car park. Hehe! I did it! Great, I still had half a day! Hmmmm, that time of day... My desire for a coffee sent me to the village of Turangi. On a terrace I planted myself for a while to enjoy this daily ritual in the sun. Not much later I looked for my Airbnb, to rest nicely in my armchair. The day was wonderful (just the way I like them), magical again!

All right, a bit stiff from the hike I left the next morning for Napier. Napier is the Art Deco city of New Zealand! This city was rebuilt in the 1930s after an earthquake in the Art Deco style that was popular at the time. Besides nature, I sometimes need a city to look at the people, the buildings, the new things, the old things or maybe I had to feel the city life. This city, those Art Deco famous monuments are of course the best to admire. I felt like I was in some 'movie set' again. Beautiful! I also did a beautiful trip along the wild Hawkes Bay. The next morning I took it a bit easier. Still I had to go to 'Cape Kidnappers'. I had read somewhere that you can take a beautiful walk along the high cliffs and the rough sea at low tide to get to the Gannet Colony. With still a bit stiff legs, of course I looked up whether it was low tide, I walked onto the beach anyway. You have to leave here three hours before low tide or at low tide at the latest because the way back at high tide could be dangerous. Of course, it just so happened that I arrived there at the perfect moment to start. How small I felt again, surrounded by this wild, untouched piece of nature and majestic cliffs! I walked there all alone. Free as a bird I hopped on the beach! Wonderful! From a distance I saw some special rock formations shoot out of the sea. And not much later, there they all were, those big birds. How beautiful nature is! Suddenly you are surrounded by hundreds of gannets. Some of them had chicks. I stayed far away so as not to disturb their nature during the still ongoing breeding season. There was only one way back, and that was the same! Anyway, enjoying that portion of beautiful, breathtaking raw nature all around.

To shorten the ride to the ferry in Wellington I stopped in the village of Greytown for one night! I also stopped at two other villages to quickly walk through them. The next morning I left for Wellington not too late to do a day of city tripping before my departure to the South Island! I found this exciting! The bad weather gave a bit more pressure to visit the ' Te Papa Tongarewa ' museum. This museum is free and an absolute must do. Attention is paid to nature, Maori culture, old and new art, educational things for children... Lovely to hang around here! After my visit the sun came out and I quickly took the old 'Wellington Cable Car'. This goes to the top of the hill where I had a view of the entire city and the sea. Then I walked along the harbour to the centre to drive with Calimero to my overnight stay.

It was soon daytime, after a short night! Time to drive onto that ferry to Picton on the South Island! I was quite nervous for that ride. Wow, driving onto that boat was sooooo cool!

Ok, one more thing: let's call New Zealand's nature 'nature madness'. Whether I'm in the car, walking or doing whatever, except in the cities of course, I'm constantly surrounded by this insanely beautiful nature! As if there is no end in sight, but indeed, there was no end... How often do I catch myself with the words woooooow, waaaauw, not normal, fantastic, insane, magical... and those words don't stop either. Complete madness to tour around here! With a feeling of enormous euphoria, powerful joy and happiness, I experience this magical adventure. LOVE THIS NATURE MADNESS 💚💛😎!

Oh my... I just did 2798.4 km on the North Island!

And that's a wrap on North Island NZ! Stay tuned for my next escapades, they might just involve a ridiculously oversized hat!

Love & kisses, Helena 💖 🦩