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- Instead of hitching, checked into rental cars to Waitomo - too much - decided to put it off till Palmerston North
- Came back to hostel to collect Dave's fishing gear + a license
- Walked up Hwy 41 to Tokaanu (6 km)
- Dave tried fishing in 3 different spots - waded in to his chest
- Cast for a couple hours - no luck - he finally decided it was boring + no fun - rather catch one on the trail somewhere - headed back to Turangi
- Got a ride back, but nothing earlier in the day - would have been a dismal hitch to Waitomo
- Borrowed a hostel-mate's catch to make impressive if truth-deficient photo!
- Taupo hostel owner said, Yes they'd shuttle to the bus stop @ 9:30 for 10:00 bus - finally left @ 9:45 accompanied by her whiny toddler
- Bus to Turangi
- Found nice hostel - Bellbird Lodge - quiet residential area - shuttles to Tongariro
- Getting more difficult + expensive to get to Waitomo (for caves + glow worms) - going to try to hitchhike tomorrow - Dave really frustrated
- Bus to Taupo
- Went to hostel advertising TV + private bath in each room - had a nap - walked around - came back to discover TV was a dud - management wouldn't swap it out, so we swapped hostels
- After checking into new hostel, desk girl said, No, they couldn't store our bags while we hitched to Waitomo - so now no reason to be in Taupo
- Played golf - first time ever - Dave good - Shan sucks - saved our balls as souvenirs
- Walked along lake - lots of black swans - several cygnets
- Walked north out of town to go zorbing - walked too far, but found it on return
- Fun! - literally takes your breath away - finally an inflatable toy that adults can jump around in
- Picked up fruit for lunch @ Pumpkin Planet
- Visited map + track store @ info center downtown
- Walked around thermal areas downtown
- Walked south out of town to see grove of California redwoods - laid under them watching sunlight + breeze on needles - love redwoods
- Figure we walked 20-25 km today
- Cooked black beans for dinner - good, but they take too long to cook, even after a 24-hour soaking - we'll stick to pinto beans
- Lounged in hostel's thermal pool while doing laundry - nice therapy for achy feet + joints
- Traded our books
- Found internet access
- Got notebooks for idea-jotting
- Saw 2 movies
- Got groceries @ Bin Inn + Big Fresh (a lot like H-E-B or Wegman's)
- Caught an early bus to Rotorua - nice town
- Rotorua surprisingly un-stinky despite thermal mud pools
- Found used bookstores + Bin Inn bulk food market
- Checked into Kiwi Paka on Tarewa Dr - tent camping for $8/night
- Shan called Dad from town to check in on him + Grandma Bevis
- Spent final day @ trailer cleaning, packing + reading
- Walked to Paku summit in morning
- Walked into town after lunch
- Bought wine + biscuits for Walkers
- Shan called Mom
- Worked on house designs tonight
- Lazy day - LOTS of reading :)
- Too lazy to do laundry yesterday, so did it today :)
- Dave cleaned + repaired stove
- Walked into town to mail postcards + help buy out fruit + veg shop
- Delicious dinner: cakes made of herbed tuna + mashed potato, topped with sage + onion gravy (w/ extra sautéed onions + mushrooms), plus steamed broccoli, and a sliced ripe tomato - MMM!!!
- Lst night may have been Guy Fawkes - lots of fireworks
- Today's a lazy day
- Lots of salt water-soaked laundry + our boots need to dry out
- Will trek into town tomorrow for fruit + veg - local produce stand clearing out
- Got ride into town to refill camper's gas bottle + back again
- Back to town for ferry from Tairua to Pauanui across the channel
- Pauanui has great trees - tall evergreens that smell great! - some great houses - imaginative designs + lots of windows
- All streets made of crushed red rock
- Missed ferry back to Tairua - not another for 2 hours - Shan angry - was sure ferry driver had seen us running for it
- Shan wanted to swim across the channel to Paku Mtn where trailer is - low tide, but rip current possible - warned about this earlier by ride into town - Dave very hesitant - had a bad feeling about it - Shan not listening - plunged in - Dave promised to watch her across
- Current immediately started carrying Shan out channel - crawl-stroked, sidestroked - stopped to check progress - decided not to waste any more time checking progress - super-light backpacking clothes still dragging, boots heavy + ineffective - rolled over onto back to calm down for a few seconds - lungs could feel pressure of surrounding water - sidestroked furiously - suddenly out of worst current - couldn't quite touch bottom - still being carried out - just a little further - finally able to stand on rock - signaled to Dave to not attempt crossing, to instead meet at the ferry wharf
- Dave thought Shan was waiting, so walked back up Pauanui Bay beach to cross channel to low tide sand flat, then final shallow channel to Paku shore - tide between ebb + flow now - very calm current - walked to trailer to find Shan, changed clothes, walked back toward town - met Shan near ferry wharf - much hugging + apologizing on Shan's part - fervent promises to never go against Dave's better judgment
- Walked over to beach again
- Rocks cool, but difficult to walk on - vertical layers, different heights
- Saw several crabs
- Dave wrote Shan a message w/ his feet
- Took the public walkway up the cliff - good views
- Critiqued houses on the walk back
- Went for groceries again today
- Found walkway to beach side of Tairua - beautiful - made from pink seashells - interesting rocks to south - want to come back @ low tide + walk them
- Cool stairway up steep hillside
- Dave stomped Shan @ cribbage tonight - one crib alone was worth 20 pts - vengeance for yesterday's Yahtzee debacle
- Dave took bus to Thames to get cash - no ATM in Tairua - exchange rate NZ$1 = US$0.54
- Dave subjected to beard decoration
- Shan had best-ever Yahtzee score today - 590 points - 1 Yahtzee + 3 bonus Yahtzees
- Spent our 2nd day in a row reading - no physical activity at all - oops!
- Hallowe'en - not much trick-or-treating going on
- Shan finished her book on a dare - if she didn't finish by midnight, Dave got foot-rubs - came down to wire: 11:40pm
- Walked in for groceries - took scenic route - relaxing day
- Caught bus to Tairua (NZ$10 ea) to stay @ Walker's camper
- Found the camper about 30-45 min walk from town - Manaia Rd to Paku Dr to Tairua Terrace
- Nice - hot water! - great view of Tairua Bay out "dining room" window
- Longest day of the trip so far!!
- Left hut about 11:45 - don't want to pay to camp any longer
- Descended on Billy Goat Track - long + hard on knees/ankles/hips - too much excess food in packs - some pretty scenery, though
- Flat part at bottom gorgeous!
- Made it to forest road by 3:30pm - walked to visitor's center
- Caught ride with last logger out
- Stayed @ Sunkist again
- Hiked up to the Pinnacles - fun trail - bouldering, etc
- Nice on top - wind relief on far side - great 360* view
- Nice green valley to southeast
- Relaxed rest of day
- Baked cake for dessert + used vanilla Power Gel for frosting - good! :)
- Still too tired in the legs to hike up to the Pinnacles, so hiked to "The Hilltop" just across the stream by our campsite
- Trail very informal - pretty steep - fun bouldering + tree root-climbing
- Great view - not windy - Shan wished she'd brought her book
- Only about 8 people here tonight
- Good beans + cornbread for dinner
- Hitched to road's end in Coromandel Forest Park - only walked 5 min before pickup
- Followed Webb Creek track to Pinnacles Hut - tough! - lots of stairs - really heavy packs - carrying a week's worth of food (or more)
- Amazing new hut - looks like a ski chalet - about 40 people here tonight
- Troubles: Pinnacles Hut is a category 1, so our hut pass is supposed to allow us to camp outside it for free - hut warden Grant says rules are different depending on region - so we have to pay NZ$12 every night to camp by the old hut - if we had stopped in at the visitor's center below, we'd have found this out - bummed!
- Caught bus as far as Thames
- Checked into Sunkist Lodge - supposed ghost activity here
- Found nice open air market happening + good used bookstore
- Watched Power of One tonight - still a good movie, but great liberties taken w/ book
- More movies - Via Satellite - ANTZ
- Unbelievable amount of food to carry tomorrow
- Plus 5 more books
- Bought bus pass to Wellington (NZ$99 ea)
- To Newmarket for groceries
- Movies - Dr. Doolittle - Gingerbread Man
- Ferry back to Auckland took 8 hrs!
- Ferry hauling cattle this time - felt bad for them - they were panicky
- Despite pity for cattle, first things we ate in city were Whoppers
- Checked into Auckland Central Backpackers again
- Checked email
- Found 3 used bookshops
- First shower in 8 days felt great
- Walked into Port Fitzroy tomake phone calls, get groceries - found out ferry only leaves this town Wednesday mornings - decided to head out tomorrow
- On way back, more waterfalls, then Kauri dam ruins on Mt. Hobson (Hirakimata) Track - tougher than expected but good photos
- Met fellow this morning who's worked in Alaska every summer for 10 yrs - gave us lots of info on cannery work - suggested Alyeska Ski Resort outside Anchorage for winter work + Prince of Wales Islands for cheap rentals
- Set out for Kaiarara Hut - sign @ our hut said 4 hrs
- Nice falls a few minutes from first hut
- Followed signs to forest road - sign said 4 hrs - hmmmm!!!
- Hut easy to find - right off road - just a long walk on road - about 3 hrs - arrived exactly 4 hrs after leaving first hut - guess that sign was the accurate one
- Again had hut to ourselves for awhile - joined later by 3 others who're bidding to rebuild nearby kauri dam ruins
