DAY 26: Welcome to Auckland

AUCKLAND -- So I finally got into downtown Auckland today.

In the morning I did some ATVing for the first time in my life. I thought I would try something different.

I don't really like it much but I had fun on the level beach where I could gun it up to 88 miles an hour, well not time-travel fast, but prolly 40 mph.

I did that for a couple of hours and then made the arduous four hour drive to Auckland where I have set up camp in a hostel downtown. Its not that great of a place compared to others I have stayed, but well enough.

This evening I got a little pissed on some Kilkenny's and then I went to a movie.

Tomorrow I am going to try to squeeze in some sightseeing around Auckland before heading to the airport in the evening.

I leave Auckland around 7 p.m. and arrive home at about the same time. Imagine that.

See you all soon.

DAY 25: Up to the Cape

From NZ - DAY 25

AHIPARA -- Today I went to the northernmost tip of the North Island, Cape Reigna. There is a lighthouse and miles of undisturbed beach.

It also turns out that there are a lot of sheep along the way.

I did a small walk near the Cape, which included a lighthouse and some other areas of the coast.

It was a warm and humid day after raining much of the morning. The rain made me alter my plan which was to do some ATV stuff around Ahipara. Since it was raining I went straight to Cape Reigna. By the time I got there it had stopped, so that worked out.

But since I really wanted to some ATV stuff, exploring the area, here in Ahipara I am staying an extra day at this motor camp.

I had planned to be in Auckland tonight. I won't have much time to explore there since I am coming home on Sunday, but oh well I can't do everything.

I am really beat. Not looking forward to the long day of travel on Sunday, but it will be nice get home and recover from the nicks and scratches and sunburn.

I am not looking forward to the snow however.

DAY 24: I Love Sailing

From NZ - DAY 24

AHIPARA -- Today I took a sailing/dolphin watching trip around the Bay of Islands. I thought it was quite awesome.

I was suppose to swim with the dolphins but they don't let you do so when there are babies in the group -- and there were babies in the group today.

That was kind of disappointing, but we saw tons of bottlenose dolphins in the bay. Watching the dolphins was the first part of the day.

After that I jumped aboard a catamaran. The weather was so nice and it was great just hanging out getting pushed by the wind.

At one point we stopped at one island for a few hours. I did some kayaking and tubing (or riding the biscuit as they called it).

And I did not get a horrible sunburn. How nice. My feet are a bit burned however. After the island we sailed around a few other islands and I just laid back and relaxed laying in the sun.

What a beautiful day. Made me want to buy a boat and live off the sea off the grid.

Of course that would change the first second I saw storm clouds I am sure.

Good day. It makes coming home really hard.

I hope all is well.

DAY 23: Bay of Lazy

PAIHIA -- I am camped out at a YHA Hostel in this small coastal town on the Bay of Islands.

It is quite beautiful and today was quite nice. It took me a few hours to drive here in the morning and in the afternoon when I arrived I went into a slow gear.

I pretty much just drifted about today. I walked along the beach for a few hours, worked on the tan, and drank some beers.

I thought about kayaking, but after a mid-day lunch I decided on a nap instead. Tomorrow should be a big day. I am going out on an all day trip in the Bay of Islands. In the morning the tour involves dolphin swimming, the afternoon entails hurdling along on a speedy catamaran.

I am looking forward to it.

It was such a lazy day I did not even take any pictures today. Sorry.

DAY 22: Glow Worms and Caving

From NZ - DAY 22

AUCKLAND -- I went on two cave tours in Waitomo in the morning.

They were both pretty cool. The glow worm cave was quite impressive. There were so many in this densely compacted area.

They don't even look real. I couldn't take any pictures, but just imagine looking at the night sky in a cave. It was pretty neat.

One thing of note. When people find out that I am from Wisconsin they keep bringing up the Green Bay Packers. I am not sure why as American Football is not at all popular here.

Anyways after the fun cave tours. I headed north. I thought I was going to say in a small community called Raglan, but I did not find any accommodations that suited me so I headed to Auckland where I stayed on the outskirts of the city in a cabin.

It was nice, except in the morning I found a bunch of ants on my food.

Oh and I also did some exploring on the way from Waitomo to Auckland. There was some quite nice countryside and some great vistas. I took some photos that you can see in my web album.

I went into another small cave, checked out a waterfall and also the dramatic sloping sheep-filled countryside.

DAY 21: Limping Around the North Island's West Coast

From NZ - DAY 21

WAITOMO -- I am still in rough shape after that glacier debacle and I am having a really tough time going down stairs and even downward slanted walkways.

Going up hurts, but is not too terrible. It is also really hard to get out of the car. Cripes.

Anyways... Today I took a roundabout way north. I headed along the coast and sought out a lighthouse on the West Coast. That was at Cape Egmont on the border of Egmont National Park, which forms a big circle around a massive Mount Egmont.

It sticks out in the scenary quite a lot when you are anywhere near it. It is quite impressive. The only thing is that I couldn't see the top of it at all today. It was cloudy and raining and only the enormous base of the mountain was visible.

Here and there the clouds broke on parts of the snow caps but never an entire view.

That was unfortunate.

After stopping at a natural site, Dawson Falls (not terribly impressive) I made the trek through the countryside toward Waitomo, where there are some interesting glow-worm caves that I will be checking out tomorrow.

I have bunked down in a hostel not far from the caves tonight. After hobbling through the caves tomorrow I will be heading north again into the Northland depending on the hour in the day.

I have heard it is quite beautiful north of Auckland so I will have to check it out.

After that I am headed back to Auckland for a day or so before coming home.

Also the picture above is from Cape Egmont looking back toward the cloud-covered Mount Egmont, which you can partially see if you look closely. This is one of my favorite pictures that I have taken so far.

Day 20: Back to the North Island

From NZ - DAY 20

WANGANUI -- It was mostly another travel day. I made the venture to the North Island after a drive along a short stretch of a coastal road outside of Picton. It was a nice day and I wish I had an extra day to explore the tip of the South Island via boat.

After making it to Wellington on the return trip I immediately headed north along the west coast. I want to make sure to take in this coast and also get north of Auckland, where I am told it is really beautiful.

Also on the agenda for the last week is the Waitomo Caves and its glow worms.

The drive north out of Wellington was not that exciting at all. It was mostly suburbs for most of the way to Wanganui, with a few nice rural spots.

I might find something to do here tomorrow or just head north along the coast looking for adventure.