We set off this morning with high hopes. Or rather I had very optimistic expectations, despite the drizzling rain; Dustin was slightly more realistic. The clouds looked much higher than they did yesterday, and I was nearly certain that our hike of the Franz Josef Glacier would go off without a hitch. It looked like there was plenty of visibility for the helicopters to safely take off and land on the glacier, depositing us in an exotic world of ice to explore for several hours.
One of the things Dustin and I really wanted to do in New Zealand was some hiking, or tramping as the kiwis call it. There are eight Great Walks and one Great Journey (goes down a river, so it’s not classed as a walk) that are the crowning jewels of the many beautiful walks and hikes in the country. To get us started, we decided to do the Tongariro Northern Circuit, a 40 km, 3 day hike around Tongariro National Park. This decision was largely based on the fact that Mt. Ngauruhoe was used by Peter Jackson for Mount Doom, and the lava fields below for Mordor.
Our arrangement with Simon was that we would work three hours in the morning, and then we could stay at the “Hilton.” We needed to provide our own meals, but with our own small kitchen and the bounty of his garden available, it was a pleasure.
Sunset at Onetangi beach
We settled in to our little routine nicely, which went like this:
1) Wake up and make tea, and while watching the birds in Simon’s yard eat breakfast. We still need to figure out what types of birds they were specifically, but there were four primary types that spent the mornings near the pear tree: (more…)
Dustin and I spent our second week in New Zealand wwoofing on Waiheke island. For the uninitiated newbies (because clearly Dustin and I are experts), wwoof stands for willing workers on organic farms or worldwide opportunities on organic farms. The gist is that you volunteer three to five hours per day, in exchange for room and board, and some friendly conversation. It’s a good situation for the person or farmer who needs a hand, and a nice way to experience someplace new for travelers and volunteers.
We spent a couple days in Auckland and had really amazing luck with things working out well (except for the baggage fiasco). The Volvo Ocean Race was in town, it’s the Auckland Arts Festival, we took a walking tour and our guide had some great suggestions that we followed up on (a night market and a great fish and chips place, to name two). We also tried our first AirBnB, which was a real highlight – Sarah’s place was lovely, but even more she was an excellent host. The photos below are a whirlwind snapshot of what we’ve been up to. (more…)
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