Vi ankom til Auckland, New Zealand fredag morgen d. 4. januar, hentede vores lille fine Nissan Tiida (bedre kendt som Nissan Tiger!), fik købt telt, soveposer, liggeunderlag osv og begav os ud i det flotte landskab. Vi havde ikke planlagt noget på forhånd, så vi kørte bare afsted og tog den derfra :)
We arrived in Auckland, New Zealand on friday morning the 4th of January, got our rental car, a fine little Nissan Tiida (nicknamed Nissan Tiger!), bought a tent, sleepingbags and other camping gear and drove of in the beautiful country. We hadn't planned anything beforehand, so we just drove along to and took it day by day :)
Første camp - vores fine bil og telt!
The first camp - our nice car and tent!
Helle-guide lægger planer for næste stop.
Helle the Guide is planing the next stop on the road.
Og det var så ved Paihia, Bay of Islands, hvor vi boede med udsigt til Haruru Falls - ikke så tosset!
And that was at Paihia, Bay of Islands, where we stayed at a caravanpark right next to Haruru Falls - not too bad!
Tog på et cruise, for at se Bay of Islands som det skal opleves - fra vandet.
Went on a cruise to experience Bay of Islands as you are supposed to - from the water.
Og fik også set et par legesyge delfiner på vejen :)
And got to see a few dolphins on the way :)
Turen tog os ud til "Hole in the Rock".
The cruise took us to the "Hole in the Rock".
Sammen med aaaalle de andre turister!! :)
Along with allll the other turists!! :)
På vej retur havde vi en time på en af øerne, hvor vi dasede og nød udsigten.
On the way back we had an hour on one of the islands, where we relaxed and enjoyed the view.
Næste stop på vores tur var længere sydpå igen, hvor vi boede ved Hot Water Beach, Hahei. Et stykke af stranden er påvirket af termisk aktivitet, så vandet under sandet er meget varmt. Man kan derfor grave sig et hul, blandet vandet med havvand og lave sin egen lille spa - hvilket mange benyttede sig af! Vi nøjedes med at kigge og more os over alle de mange tosser der gravede :)
Next stop was further South again, where we stayed at Hot Water Beach, Hahei. On some parts of the beach, there is thermal activity, which causes the wather under the sand to be very hot. You can therefore dig a hole, mix the water with seawater and create your own little spa - which a lot of people did. We were just watching and laughing at all the silly people digging! :)
Gang i Trangia'en :)
Busy cooking on the "Trangia" :)
Næste morgen kørte vi ind til Hahei by, for at sejle i havkajak. Sejlede via kysten til Cathedral Cove, hvor vi gjorde holdt med resten af vores team og guide. Vi klarede os heldigvis også uden at vælte i vandet og havde en rigtig god tur!
Next morning we drove to Hahei town, to go seakayaking. We sailed along the bay to Cathedral Cove, where we stayed for a while with the rest of our team and our guide. We made it without falling in the water and had a great tour.
Rigtig flot sted!
Very beautiful place!
Videre fra Hahei, kørte vi længere sydpå, med et hurtigt stop ved Huka Falls. Vandfaldet flytter op til 220.000 liter vand i sekundet og er i Waikato River, den længste flod i New Zealand.
From Hahei, we went further South, with a quick stop at Huka Falls. The waterfall is moving up to 220,000 liters of water every second and runs in the Waikato River, which is the longest river in New Zealand.
Vi fandt en campingplads i Tongario National Park, hvorfra vi næste morgen skulle starte vores gåtur på Tongario Alpine Crossing. Turen er normalt 19 km, hvor man krydser op over bjergene, med udsigt til "Mt Doom" (vulkanen fra Ringenes Herre). Pga vulkansk aktivitet i området, ved en af de andre vulkaner, var turen lukket halvvejs, så vi i stedet skulle gå op til toppen af bjerget og gå samme vej tilbage, 17 km i stedet.
Vejret havde set lidt tvivlsomt ud og vi var blevet advaret imod lave temperaturer og en kraftig vind på toppen, med en chill-faktor under frysepunktet - men ikke noget der skræmte os :) Så afsted vi tog og det var det hele værd!
We found a campsite in Tongario National Park, from where we the next morning should start our hike on the Tongario Alpine Crossing. Normally the hike is 19 km, where you cross the mountains, viewing at "Mt Doom" (the vulcano from Lord of the Rings). Because of vulcanic activity in the area the crossing was closed halfway, so we had to go to the top of a mountain and walk the same way back, 17 km instead.
The weather had not been looking too great and we had been warned against low temperatures and a strong wind at the top, which would cause a chill-factor below 0 degrees - but nothing that could scare us :) So off we went and it was so worth it!
Skyerne klarede få minutter før vi begav os afsted - perfekt timing!
The clouds cleared just minutes before we started the hike - perfect timing!
Mt Doom.
På toppen, med udsigt til "Blue Lake".
On the top, with a view over "Blue Lake".
Red crater.
We made it :)
Og ja, det blæste MEGET!
And yes, it vas VERY windy!
Tid til en lille madpause.
Time for a foodbreak.
Fordi vi bare skulle vende om og gå tilbage tog vi en ekstra tur, når vi nu var deroppe, til toppen af Mt Tongario - ekstra 3 km.
Ikke nogen dårlig udsigt fra ca 1960 meters højde.
Because we just had to turn around and go back down, we went on a little extra tour to the top of Mt Tongario, since we were up there - extra 3 km.
Not a bad view from about 1960 meters.
Yir!
Flot det var det!! I alt blev det til 20 km på knap 7 timer. Rigtig fed tur med nogle helt fantastiske udsigter!
Very beautiful! In total we walked 20 km in 7 hours. Really great trip with some awesome views!
Man må tænke alternativt når man er på low budget camping - så Tigeren bliver brugt som tørresnor :)
Videre fra Tongario National Park kørte vi til Wellington og tog færgen til Sydøen (som i øvrigt viste sig at være en pensioneret Bornholmer-færge, med dansk tekst og "Bisto Bornholm" og det hele - interessant :)!) - mod en masse nye spændende oplevelser.
Fortsættelse følger... :)
You've gotta be creative when you are camping low budget - The Tiger does a good job as a clothesline :)
From Tongario National Park we drove to Wellington, where we took the ferry to the South Island - towards many new, exiting anventures.
To be continued... :)
