Stray tour around the North Island (Days 1-4)
Trip Start
Nov 11, 2007
1
20
26
Trip End
Feb 11, 2007
Rotorua,
New Zealand
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
I hope you're all well! I'm gonna start by saying this could be a long entry so hope you're in for a good read!
DAY 1
Ok so after having our one nght in Auckland we got up for our pick up by the Stray bus at 7:45am. Harsh but it was worth it for the fun packed day we had. After our pick up there were a few others in Auckland city before we set off on our adventure. We went up Mt. Eden, an extinct volcano in Auckland which gave us amazing views over the city. It was really steep and people were running up it! Crazy! After a talk from our driver, Ricky, about how the Stray thing works and the outline of the day we set off properly out of Auckland and into the country.
We were heading for the Coromandel peninsula and a place called Hahei which is on the other side of the Coromandel range in the north of the island. The drive was breathtaking, we went through forests, mountains and saw stunning scenery as well as gorgeous beaches and fanstastic views. When we finally got to Hahei it was a massive ruch to get ready as we had chosen to do the day's paid activity which was sea kayaking - yep I know pretty active for me to do but it's waht New Zealand is all about! We dumped our stuff at the backpacker lodge on the campsite and then we were picked up by the kayak team and driven down to the beach where we learnt how to steer the kayaks, how to paddle and what we should wear - a very attractive life jacket and a ;skirt; that attaches itself round the hole where u sit. We were in double kayaks so me and mel went together and jen and jolly went in another. I sat in the back which meant I steered the thing with the pedals in my bit of the boat. After all this info we were given a push intot he sea and we were off!
It was a bit scary, very wet and cold and quite knackering lol, but such great fun. The plan was to head out of the beach we started from, around past another bay and to the third one called Cathedral Cove to stop, have coffee and a little exploration! We set off in our twos and o my god was it hard to paddle and steer whilst not crashing and getting stupidly wet by every possible wave!?!? There was a lot of shouting 'left, right, left, right...' et., but we still kept losing our timing. It was hilarious and we had a great time. We paddled on until our guide told us to raft up (hold our boats together) and then we went into a cave one by one where he then turned us around and sent us back out again because it was so small. It had a tiny little underground beach in it and the water was like powder blue. Very cool! When the last pair had gone in and out he told us the next bay along was Cathedral cove and we would be going straight there. So we set off again around the headland and then went into the beach one by one. We got rid of our skirts and life jackets and chilled out on the beach whilst our guide made us the best cup of coffee ever! He even foamed up the milk!!
After our coffee we got back in our kayaks and headed back to where we started. It was easier on the way back because we had a tail wind but that didn't stop two boats from capsizing at the same time about 2 minutes before we got back!! Ricky came to meet us on the beach because we were going straight to Hot Water Beach, about 5 minutes away on the bus. We were tired and soggy but really proud of ourselves. We got on the bus but didn't sit down cos we were so wet and sandy. Hot Water Beach is called that because if you dig holes in the sand, they fill up with water and it's so hot. In fact some of it was too hot and we had to keep moving around. We hired a few spades and got digging our holes. When we got it right it was like sitting in a hot bath!
So now we were the 4 S's: Sandy, soggy, sweaty and salty! After an hour we were ready to leave and it was time to shower and change before the big BBQ with everyone. It was a fab BBQ with so much stuff! Even mash potato! We all sta round chatting and having a good time getting to know each other. Us lot who had kayaked had bonded pretty well so we had some good banter going on. Bedtime came not long after as we were so tired after our busy day.
DAY 2
The next day we were up and out of Hahei by 8am and we were heading for Raglan, famous for surfing and particularly it's 10 minute wave. We got there after about 2 hours, and stopped in the town for supplies for tea - I was cooking a veg curry - ahnd a look around. Raglan is pretty much like the Byron Bay of New Zealand, really chilled out and laid back with no commercialisation. McDonalds and KFC have tried to open there but over 90% of the town's population said no way! It was a really cute little place. We were going to stay on the mountain overlooking raglan, Mt. Karioi, in a lodge in the bush. People who were planning to surf (melly) went down about 3 to learn and we all headed for the same beach but just to shill out and sunbathe which was lovely. Although the sand was the type that stuck to everything! The best bit of the whole afternoon was that a seagull decided to use my bum as target practice and made a nice pattern on my shorts!
After the beach it was time for a much needed shower before I got on with the cooking and being sociable with everyone. The group are really cool and I am so glad we decided to do this tour! Taking my mind off the fact that it's nearly time to come home cos I'm missing certain people a lot at the moment. After tea we wandered up to a lookout point over 'whale bay', a good surfing bay apparently. We had fantastic panoramic views of the sunset from there and I got some great pictures. We sat chatting until it got a bit chilly and we walked back through to the lodge in the pitch black. It's at this point when we're in the bush, it's so dark you can;t see your feet and we're on a stoney steep path that Nick decides to try out his jumpin over a wall skill....it failed!
We found our way back and then carried on up the hill a little to find the glowworms in the rocks. Very eerie seeing these tiny little pinpricks of light twinkling at you out of the darkness. Little bit like fairy lights in the woods, it was like a grotto. I love this country sooo much! Then it was time for bed again after another busy day.
DAY 3
We got up early at our lodge in the mountain ready to leave and go to Waitomo. Waitomo is famous for it's caves which are packed with glowworms and also for the actvities you can do in those caves. It's situated on the fault line of 2 tectonic plates which means the landscape is really rocky and there are laods of caves. The caves are formed when rain water which is slightly acidic falls on the earth and in particualr onto the limestone rocks which it then erodes. The limestone was formed from ancient shells and sea creatures when the country was on the bottom of the ocean. They formed millions of layers to form the 120m deep layer in waitomo. When the water drops onto the stone it froms cracks an finally Tumus or pothole which eventually form caves as the water continues to go down the holes. The topsil in this area is also a bit special. When Lake Taupo was a volcano there was a massive eruption 1800 years ago that belew dust, rocks and lava over 100 km in every direction. The sky all over the world was apparently red for 10 days and now the Taupo crater lake is now the biggest lake in new zeland. And I shall be vsiting it in a few days time. Anyway that is where the topsoil in Waitomo is from.
Me, jolly and mel were booked to do the Spellbound tour or the dry option, whcih waould take us into 2 caves, one in a boat and one on foot. In those caves we would see the glowworms. We were taken in a minibus by our guide, Annette, who told us a lot about the area. We entered the first cave on foot forst with very sexy helmets with torches attached, before getting into our big dinghy and turning off our lights. You literally vould not see your hand in front of your face is was so weird, but what you could see were millions of tiny little light on the ceiling and walls. Loads of glowworms! They were like the night sky, beautiful! The boat was really relaxing and we saw so many glowworms it was quite unbelievable. When we had seen them for long enough we walked back to the entrance of the cave elephant style (holding each other shoulders) in the pitch black. It was very disorientating but we made it. After a quick stop for toilets and a hot drink at a cutom built shack, we went to our second cave.
We walked around the next cave, it was named 'cave of spirits' by the maori's as it was so cold they thought spirits breath was coming out of the earth. Annette pointed out the bones of animals that had got lost in the darkness, a goat and a possum. We also saw the remains of a moa, an emu type bird that had been extinct for 500 years. There was also a skeleton of a cow that had fallen down a tumu (hole) ad obviously dies in the fall. All a bit strange but the kids on our tour loved the gruesome details. The cave was like a grotto, full of stalactites and stalagmites. After looking around we headed back to the surface and to the minibus for the drive back into Waitomo village to get back onto our Stray bus. The caves were cool, I really enjoyed our tour!
We drove on towards Rotorua but went past it to go to our cultural stop for the night at a traditional Maori Marae, or community house, at Uncle Boy's place. We were greeted by Uncle Boy himself and he introduced us to his Marae that he had built in memory of his parents. The big room or 'Tukotahi' is named after his father and houses his father's spirit and the kitchen and dining room area attached, 'Te Aorere' is named after his mother. You could tell he was really passionate about the place and he made us feel really welcome. We were shown how a visiting maori tribe would be greeted onto the marae by uncle boy and then we took part in thri traditional greeting or 'hongi' which is a hand shake combined with a brief nose rub. It was quite scary as you keep your eyes open and maoris can be quite intimidating. We then enetered the hall with all our stuff and were sat down fro dinner which was a typical maori feast of mutton and gravy, chicken, sweet potato and pumpkin plus salad, then the new zealand favourite of pavlova with jelly and fruit too. It was all very yummy.
After dinner we got seaed in the hall for our cultural perfromance by uncle boy's relations. We were treated to some traditional maori dances, songs, poi and chanting plus some great hakas by the men. There were a lot of tongues sticking out and the women were doing some very scary faces. They were amazing and they showed us just what being in a maori tribe was all about. They appear to have an intense belief in their creator, culture and knowledge and they obviously love to share this with others. It was fantastic and I loved every minute. Sfter that it was our turn. The boys wre going to go outside and learn a haka and the girls were going to learn poi and a traditional dance - we were the first group ever to learn a dance with them so we were very privileged. It was quite tricky but once you had the moves down it was loads of fun and I laughed so hard. Especially doing the scary intimidating eyes (women aren't allowed to do the tongue thing).
Then it was time to show the boys what we had learnt and vice versa. The boys went first and did a fantastic job. They even managed to get soem agression in there and it was so funny because they were all topless, there were some great t-shirt tans going on! Then it was our turn. The poi went fine and I did good until I got to the dance when some of the little male warriors - the 7 year old - decided it would be funny to totally put me off my dance moves and do haka moves at me. Of course I collapsed into giggles as did the other girls around me. But if was great fun. They then treated us to one last hymn and chant and then it was photo op time and we got a great group shot.
All in all an AWESOME night and it ended with some chatting and sitting outside and looking at the stars which are amazing out here (even if orion is upside down)!
I'm now in Rotorua - thermal capital of the north island and possibly the whole country! It stinks of bad eggs (sulphur) and has some really cool thermal hotspots to explore. Will update later cos my fingers hurt lol!
3 and a half weeks people - enjoy your freedom while you can cos I'm coming home soon!
Lots of love Smiffy xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
