White Island viewed from GoPro

Ross our helicopter pilot had to get into the caldera without passing through the gases coming out of the main crater which would have caused extreme turbulence to the small Robinson copter. After securing the main rotor we tramped over the lunar landscape to the sulphur laden crater grabbing our respirators as particularly bad emissions wafted our way. Before returning to base we passed through the heavily corroded remains of the sulphur extraction plant built in the 1920's and subsequently overwhelmed by eruptions.

Kinloch Sunsets

Are your sunsets always this beautiful? Looking south across Lake Taupo from Kinloch....

Bucolic Hobbiton

Just outside the Green Dragon it looks like Merry or Pippin have left their fishing pole, tackle and snacks!

The Green Dragon

Damn hobbits are so hard to find! I'll settle for a pint of Amber Ale by the fireside of the Green Dragon pub, one of the finest watering holes in the Shire!

Bilbo Baggins

Forgetful Bilbo has gone out of the house and forgot to close the door! Not a good idea with those wraiths around.....

Visiting Hobbiton

Tucked away in Middle Earth is the Shire where we are trying to catch up with our friends the Hobbits. We stepped inside one of their houses to have Elevenses but it appears they are out for a stroll in the Shire.....

How to slow cook for 400 guests

Make a large wooden box with trays, connect it up to a steam fumarole just about available anywhere, prep your veggies, place in box for several hours.... voila !

Craters of the moon

Invigorating one hour hiking circuit of the fumaroles known as the Craters of the Moon near Taupo, the center of the Thermal Zone of the North Island. The entire valley is ouzing steam from every crevice!

Abel Tasman Day 4

Shorter day only 10 km or so to Totaranui where we pick up the Aqua Taxi to return to Marahau. Lunch on the beautiful beach at Goat Bay before the final ascent and descent of Skinner Point only made worse by the landslide destroying the lower altitude track and forced to use the newer higher track. Surprise at the end of the Aqua Taxi ride as the boat drove on to a trailer offshore at low water and was hauled out by a farm tractor and towed through town to the taxi base complete with crew and passengers!

Awaroa Dinner

Day 3 of the Abel Tasman trail was a success thanks to Brian the chef at the lodge. Navigating Margaret's allergies Brian produced a memorable dinner of fish and lamb. I have fallen under the Sauvignon Blanc spell and found a local Nelson area vintage called Resurgence with a delightful nose!

Margaret Retirement Home?

I wonder if she has found the perfect spot to retire to? A hole in a hillside in Hobbiton with a round door and an endless supply of Amazon Kindle books?

Day 3 - Rest day lunch!

Got to enjoy the chef's excellent fish & chips - a fish called Hokey! All the better washed down with a cold Stella followed by a nap! But before a quick visit to the wetlands to feed the very large eels!

Awaroa Lodge

Abel Tasman trail end of day 2 arrive at Awaroa luxury lodge in the middle of the New Zealand beech forest and fern trees. Day of rest on day 3 and we leave for our final destination on day 4 before being ferried back to base by Aqua Packers boat.

Awaroa Lodge dinner

Started with local seafood chowder and ordered fish of the day for main course.... about four fillets of local Tarakihi with sauce graced my plate. Got to admit the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is becoming addictive! Served by Liza from Italy in the fine dining room at the lodge.

Maori guards

Only men with big spears may pass across this bridge.... Leaving Onetahuti Bay beach and heading north. Very nice new boardwalk 1 km long leads across the wetlands and positions you for the hike up to Tonga Saddle.

Ice Cold in Awaroa

Similarities about Ice Cold in Alex today as we tramped 9 hours from Anchorage, over many hills, valleys and beaches on the exceptional pristine Abel Tasman trail - we covered about 21 km or 13 miles, going over 6 headlands, down to 5 beaches, changing to water shoes to make low tide estuary crossings which save km of extra round about dry trails. So how to celebrate our arrival at Awaroa Lodge but step up to the bar and order a cold beer!

Suspension bridges

Many of the major streams and rivers on the Abel Tasman trail can only be crossed by mini suspension bridges designed for hikers to walk across in single file usually with a weight restriction of five max on bridge at any given time. There is a lot of swaying and motion that can really make you feel uncomfortable! No know casualties do far!!!!

Our own New Zealand "Bach"

End of our first day on the Abel Tasman trail arriving at the Anchorage bay and we have given an exclusive NZ Bach all to ourselves! Pronounced batch it is a quintessential NZ style holiday cottage with minimal luxuries but a great place to get away from the world. This one features one room kitchen/living/bedroom, wood fired stove, view of the Anchorage, solar panel, hot water bottles for the bed! What a treat!

Day 1 Abel Tasman trail

Solar power installation

The Abel Tasman bach we stayed overnight had a wood fired stove which I set my alarm timer to every two hours overnight to keep the fire going, however there was also a solar panel and banks of batteries - 24 of these cells in banks of 6. Some investment!

Tides Restaurant

The river that runs by the Tides Restaurant in Nelson is indeed tidal - it took a few visits before I managed to view the full 200ft width of water rather than the 20ft at low water. Exceptional dinner for Margaret local scallops on kumara (local white sweet potato) rounds, and for me the seafood taster menu of scallops, calamari and chili shrimps along with deep fried cauliflower!

Nelson

Nelson.... one of the prettiest, cleanest and most delightful towns you could find anywhere in the world! Streets are named Trafalgar, Collingwood, Vanguard, Nile, Hardy in honor of Horatio Nelson! So popular that the population grew 16% last year with an influx from post-earthquake Christchurch folks where daily tremors keep reminding the locals that it's not over yet! Flying in over the Nelson harbor in a Bombardier 300.

South to Nelson

Heading south on a short 60 minute flight to Nelson at the top of the South Island and the start of our four day hike along the Able Tasman coastline trail....

Next on the menu...

Always fun to come across a few acres of little lambs, alpacas, lamas, swans, boar, deer, and now ostriches! NZ cuisine attempts to delight the palate in all possible ways.... and we have been trying them all.... but no ostrich on the menu yet!

Food identification!

Just in case you are unsure what you ordered, or maybe it's a chef fail-safe check, SC means Steak and Cheese pie! Lots of delightful pies in the NZ cafés including steak and kidney, lamb, mince and many variations all done in puff pastry. Just like the old country except in NZ you get top quality ingredients.

Heartland Express

While having breakfast just outside Hamilton we chanced on the Auckland to Wellington Heartland Express passing by our diner restaurant - a rarity as it is excursion only and runs infrequently. Nice to see some live steam in NZ!

In the Cave of the Mountain King

A hundred or more feet under the Waikato landscape lies the Waitomo caves. Our two hour morning hike was completely subterranean in the Ruakuri natural tunnel system nearly two miles long, from spiral entry chamber to tunnel, via suspended walkways past Glowworm intense ceilings, stalactites and stalagmites, limestone veils, torrents running under the walkways with wet suited adventurers on large inner tubes swooshed by heading downstream! Altogether a New Zealand experience!

Into Gollum's Cave...

At Waitomo we take the Glowworm cave tour which starts in a limestone cavern full of stalactites and stalagmites. Glow worms gang from the ceiling and illuminated like small led lights, nearer the underground stream they become plentiful. Then we board a boat in complete darkness and are pulled through the water cave by ropes as we admire the diaspora of Glowworm colonies eventually to emerge in daylight. Reminds me of taking a boat ride in the Hades underworld with Orpheus!

Mineral spring bath....

Skip the shower, jump in the mineral spring and get a therapeutic start to the day!

Source of the Waikite source

Nice and hot - two degrees below boiling point - the hot spring is channeled downstream to five different pools. My morning soak was at 41.3 C or 106 F. Had the pool to myself since only RV campers have exclusive access until 10 am when the day trippers arrive!

Waikite thermal stream

Coming out of the mountainside at 98 degrees Celsius the stream is diverted to a series of pools and hot tubs for the popular enjoyment of bathers and visitors! Wow isn't NZ amazing!

Devil's bathtub!

If you like sulphur and H2S then this is your spot. In the Wai-O-Tapu thermal area this is one spot to avoid. Deep yellow sulphurated waters will probably corrode you within minutes!

Wai-O-Tapu Pool

Walking around the Champagne Pool about 200ft across and 200ft deep with a temperature 74 degree centigrade - 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Water contains gold, silver, mercury, sulphur, arsenic, thallium, and antimony.

A Casual Conversation....

While hanging out at Vava'u Mango cafe one morning I got into conversation with New Zealander John. We talked about our respective travels and his loss of his wife leading him to travel South Pacific island-hoping with two of his friends. He mentioned the Smokehouse in Coromandel where four days later I happen to stop by and fill the RV fridge with goodies... smoked local salmon, smoked mussels, smoked scallops - all great local seafoods - which we enjoyed wrapped in wasabi flavored seaweed wraps, with bean salad and cole slaw ... Nice snacks!

RV Camper 101

FIAT chassis finished by Burstner a German outfit specializing in the conversion to a vehicle to Wilderness spec this RV van runs on diesel, propane and plug in 240 volt and a 12 volt to 240 volt inverter capable of supporting life as we know it in the wilderness! It does have 75,000 km on the clock so it's rattling a bit especially on the secondary and gravel roads around the Coromandel! Intimate for two couples needless to say!

Maria's Pavlova

What a treat! Special dinner at cousin Lynley's house and dessert by daughter Maria.... Pavlova, double cream and fresh strawberries and not to forget Lynley's superb roast lamb main course!! Also visiting for dinner youngest cousin Patsy. Tomorrow we meet the third cousin Erica for coffee! Have not seen my three NZ cousins for 14 years!

Jaz does Yoga

Breakfast stop at Tairua followed by Jasmin yoga session...

Whitianga Restaurant

Lovely evening with my cousin Lynley and family - had expert guidance from family friend Margaret and sampled NZ oysters with Chardonnay sauce, green lipped mussels, shank of lamb and sauté grouper - splitting all your courses with a friend gives a wonderful taste of the outgoing, fresh and innovative New Zealand zest for the freshest and healthiest cuisine!

Whitianga Harbour Ferry

One of the shortest ferry rides is across the Whitianga Harbour entrance, probably 300ft, through very choppy water for NZ$3. The harbour extends back and widens out inland about 10km and causes a huge amount of water to sluice in and out with each tide. Add wind whistling through the gap gives great wind against tide effects making the ferryman navigate crabwise from dick to dock.

Novel marketing of fishing trips

Enterprising lady offering a new angle on marketing to the male fisherman!

Shortcut across the Coramandel

Taking the 50km gravel road across from Coromandel to Whitianga may be faster than taking the 90km coastal road and we get to stop and view the Waiau waterfalls!

Lynley's bach

Cousin Lynley is working on a superb restoration project - a 1950's abandoned cottage overlooking Cook's Beach just across from Whitianga on the Coromandel peninsula. Might take a few years but it's going to be an outstanding spot to live!

Shock whitebait!

Ordered whitebait thinking it would be Mediterranean deep fry - received small fish in an omelet! Oh well live and learn!

Convert to camper!

From 40ft catamaran to a 20ft camper albeit a deluxe camper with two beds, dining, kitchen, shower, toilet and mod cons. Weighs about three and half tons and drives like a large SUV. Challenging tortuous roads of the Coromandel keeps speeds around 30 mph!

Tongan language !!!!

There is lot of aircraft instructions in the Real Tonga flight from Vava'u to Tongatapu! Looks like a lot faka this and faka that! I think I'd better behave!

Anchorage #26

Flying out of Vava'u we climb over the eastern shore and pass over anchorage #26 and the island of Olo'ua where we spent Sunday listening to the village signing - started around 10am and was still going strong at 6:30pm, occasionally a gap for pealing bells.... and they started again at 5:30am Monday morning! Difficult to comprehend the devotion and complete village participation - we did not a soul at all anytime that day!

Trip itinerary update

Richmond to Atlanta to Los Angeles (8 hrs)
Los Angeles to Auckland, New Zealand (13 hrs)
Auckland to Tongatapu main island.... (2 hrs)
Overnight then Tongatapu to Vava'u (2 hrs)
Charter catamaran for 12 days
Fly Vava'u back to Tongatapu main island (1 hr)
Overnight in Nuku'
Tongatapu back to Auckland (2 hrs)
Pick up camper!