Kaikoura

Kaikoura means "eat crayfish" in Maori, and while we hear the local giant crayfish are a must-have delicacy, we spent all of our time in Kaikoura looking at seals. THERE ARE SO MANY SEALS IN KAIKOURA! Today's post is dedicated to my 2 year-old nephew Colt. He's one of our most faithful readers, and he likes seals. Enjoy buddy.
Peek-a-boo Mr. Seal!	Seals love to swim, just like you.
Can you count how many seals there are?	Seals love naptime, and so should you!
Baby seals are called pups.	This is an adorable little seal pup that made Shawn scream like a girl and run away because he swears it was a big, angry mommy seal.
This seal is on a rock.	This seal is on the grass, and Shawn has a new mullet haircut. Silly seal! Silly Shawn!
This is my new friend.
We shared a moment.
Then I had to go!
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Hiking the Abel Tasman National Park

Carolyn and I loved the kayaking portion of the Abel Tasman, and while we would have been happy to just hop on a water taxi back to town, we decided to explore the trail back on foot. We started Day 3 at Onetahuti where we dropped off our kayaks the night before. The hiking trail actually goes further north past Onetahuti (the entire thing is 52 km), but spending six or seven days in the wilderness seemed a little out of our league. We’re a bit lazy if you hadn’t noticed, and generally unprepared, so we skipped the most northern portion of the park and headed south. The trail hugs the same golden sand beaches and granite rock formations we had seen from the kayak, but it was fun to see it all from a different perspective. Right off the bat we plunged into rich forest environs filled with birdsong (thanks again to the Birdsong Trust). I whistled my face off to the fantails that filled the tree branches, and within a few minutes we had a pretty good crowd of birds hopping from tree to tree along with us. They are incredibly social birds, and will dance for anyone that seems interested. They also like to swoop right in front of your face. It's a jolting experience. A lot of the trail is nestled in the trees with frequent scenic lookouts, keeping you fairly cool as you wind your way up and down gradual (and some not so gradual) ascents of the granite cliffs. We took the occasional break for photo-ops and snacks, but for the most part the hike is extremely do-able. I wore hiking boots, but Care did the whole thing in Chacos. A unique feature of this particular Great Walk is the existence of four tidal crossings at Bark Bay, Torrent Bay, Onetahuti Bay, and Awaroa. The tide depth in the park can fluctuate by as much as 5.2 meters, meaning that at high tide, some of the trails are submerged. Low tide and high tide are generally 6 hours apart, so most of the crossings are only passable during a 4-hour window, 2 hours before and after low tide. Get a tidal chart from the Nelson or Motueka i-site and do some planning ahead of time, or else you’ll have to: Take the high tide trail (which can add several kms/hours to your trek) Swim. Not recommended. Wake up at 5 am because you have 6 hours of hiking ahead of you and the next low tide isn’t until 5 pm. Of course Care and I didn’t time our tidal crossings well, forcing us to take Option A at Bark Bay, and Option C at Torrent Bay. Don’t stress about the Onetahuti crossing – there’s just slightly less beach to walk on at high tide. In contrast, the Awaroa crossing further north is long. Don’t muck around with it. Time it right, or you’re going for Option B. As disgruntled as we were about our early start at Torrent Bay on Day 4, the stillness of the morning was pristine. The best part is when the track emerges from the tree line to expose amazing views of the park’s bays and islands. One of the most stunning views is from the peak atop Anchorage Bay, looking north at dawn. New Zealand is called “Aotearoa” in Maori which literally means “land of the long white cloud”, and Care and I have been lucky to see an almost non-stop parade of epic cloudy sunsets. The sun lights row upon row of clouds on fire each evening…probably every morning too but we catch wayyyy fewer of those. It’s always amazing, but the Abel Tasman was exceptional. We bought a tent just for this trip, and in retrospect, I wish we had bought a small cooker (cookers are not provided in the Abel Tasman DOC huts or campsites). Cereal, PB&J sandwiches, and cold pasta held us over for four days, but the first thing we did after the hike was inhale five pizzas at 623 Bar’s all-you-can-eat pizza night. Ignoring a few sandfly issues (don’t forget your DEET!), it’s easy to see why the Abel Tasman National Park is the most visited park in New Zealand. Whether it’s by land or sea, everyone can easily and affordably enjoy the pristine beauty of the natural surroundings. We definitely recommend the kayak/hike combo. It’s a sweet taste of both worlds.
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Mt. Egmont, or Mt. "TaraNOTki"

Mt. Taranaki (the Maori name) or Mt. Egmont (the English name) is supposedly one of the most beautiful and iconic mountains in New Zealand. Its solitary snowcapped peak is so stunning that it was used as a stand-in for Mt. Fuji during the New Zealand based filming of “The Last Samurai.” Unfortunately, storm clouds and fog shrouded the mountain for a week, so we never got to see it…Mt Taranaki I mean, not “The Last Samurai"…I saw that and it was awesome. After six days of waiting around New Plymouth, Oakura, and even on the slopes of Taranaki itself, Care and I decided to give up on getting a rad picture and moved on. The slopes show potential though, and I’d love to come back on our way north and go for a hike. Until then, I’ll just rent “The Last Samurai” and practice sweet sword moves in front of my little laptop screen.
1:13 in...check it out:

Destination guide: Mount Egmont, New Zealand by Shawn Forno Mount Egmont, also known as Mount Taranaki in the local Maori language, provides one of New Zealand’s most iconic landscapes and is home to a multitude of tramping tracks, camp sites, huts, and dozens of other outdoor activities...read more

"TaraNOTki" - a comic by Shawn Forno

The Tongariro Crossing - a.k.a. "Mt. Doom"

Lake Taupo – the largest freshwater lake in the southern hemisphere – lies two hours south of Rotorua. You might ask, “Shawn and Carolyn, what do you do at the largest freshwater lake in the southern hemisphere?" Well, if you’re anything like us you eat a sandwich, splash around for a while, then play backgammon until naptime. While we were eating sandwiches we watched literally dozens of people fall out of the sky. Taupo is home to the cheapest skydive in NZ, so at any given time you can look up and see someone screaming their face off as they plummet to the earth. Care was stoked to kayak, but the lake doesn’t have a lot of twists or anything, so we decided to wait for the Abel Tasman to get our kayak on. Instead, we drove south to what many consider the best day hike in New Zealand – the Tongariro Crossing.

	This 19 km hike up and through the saddle of two active volcanoes followed by an undulating descent through the Red Crater, past the Emerald Lakes, and down the alpine landscape of the lakeside mountain face is home to an ever changing tapestry of stark beautiful images. We finally got to wear our hiking boots! The start is a climb up “The Devil’s Staircase” (exactly like it sounds) with imposing Mt. Ngauruhoe filling up the landscape. For most trekkers, this volcano is just another unpronounceable Maori name, but for me it’s the famous Mt. Doom from the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Peter Jackson scoured the New Zealand landscape for a mountain imposing enough to be the throne of all evil. The fact that he chose this peak should tell you something about the area. Luckily we started at 7:30 a.m. so the heat of the climb was refreshing. At the peak, we trekked across a wide crater that looks like the surface of the moon. The temperature drops significantly and wind whips across the exposed face of the volcano, but the desolation is really beautiful. We lucked out with the weather – it was clear and sunny – but clouds and deep fog can descend on the summit in minutes, making the trek dangerous if not impossible. People have gotten lost and died on the mountain before. Once we crossed the crater and climbed some more we hit the high point. After a few hundred meters of sliding down the loose rock scree we came upon the Emerald Lakes. These three pools of turquoise water are heated by sulfur vents in the volcanoes’ crevices creating a welcome splash of color on the otherwise monochromatic scenery. The lakes are insanely blue. Like, Crayola 128-pack of crayons “cerulean blue”. After the lakes the hike sort of plods on, a little up, a lot down, until we reached the far side of the mountains and head down through ever greener alpine landscapes. It was like a science fair diorama – these plants live at this elevation, this bush lives at this elevation, trees sprout here – until we descended amongst a rushing stream and lush forests of the foothills. I have a bum knee which flared up on me, especially on the descent, so the last eight kilometers took forever. It was nice though because Care and I took our sweet time getting down the mountain. She waited for me when I needed to crab walk down a steep hill, and we got to really soak up the scenery all around us instead of just pushing ahead like I’m prone to do on a hike. All in all, the Tongariro Crossing lived up to the hype as the “best day hike in New Zealand.” We saw Mt. Doom, volcanoes, craters, lakes, rocks, trees, streams, nature stuff, and I hurt myself. What more can you ask for?

Destination Guide: Lake Taupo by Shawn Forno Taupo is a wonderful jumping off point for dozens of activities on the lake or in the centrally located Taupo district of the North Island. Kayaking, sailing, para-sailing, swimming, skydiving, snorkeling, tubing, and more are all available for booking at either the information...read more Destination Guide: Tongariro National Park by Shawn Forno Forty kilometers south of Lake Taupo, the lush blues and greens of the bustling tourist locale succumb to the rugged landscape of the Taupo volcanic fields, home to three active volcanoes – Mt. Tongariro, Mt. Ngauruhoe, and Mt. Ruapehu. The trail winding between...read more

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"One Ring to Rule Them All" - a comic by Shawn Forno

Mount Maunganui and Tauranga

It’s a strange feeling to head east, leaving the safety and familiarity of Auckland behind us. We’ve taken our time getting to the jumping off point of the trip - vacationing in Fiji and staying in Auckland for weeks building Flash. Even driving up to Northland felt safe because we knew we’d swing back through Auckland to stay with Pete and Michelle again. But now that Hot Water Beach is behind us, we seriously have no idea what we’re doing. It was the last destination that we knew anything about. We're finally traveling by the seat of our pants, and it's an awesome feeling.

	The first stop on the “we’ve got no plan at all” leg of the voyage was Mount Maunganui – and it was sweet. We freedom camped right next to the water, and climbed the deceptively tall mountain at the mouth of the harbor. The 360 degree views of the bay, the beach, the ocean, and a long, thin, sandy island that’s actually a forest preserve are amazing. But the best part is that from the peak you can see the waves stacking up like corduroy. Carolyn chased down a few pocket-sized sheep for a photo-op on our way down as I ran to get my board. Seriously – best waves of the trip. Good size waves (overhead), peeling rights, beautiful sun, and best of all – no insane paddle out define Mount Maunganui's surf. A few hours later I got out, exhausted but happy, and Care and I watched the sun go down on the water. It wasn’t as cheesy as it sounds. After that we saw Avatar. Speechless. The “we’ve got no plan at all” plan is awesome.

Destination Guide: Mount Maunganui and Tauranga by Shawn Forno Mount Maunganui, the 256 meter mountain that guards the entrance to the city’s bustling harbor, is the namesake for this laidback jumping off point to the Bay of Plenty in the North Island. Mount Maunganui's gradual ascent and beautiful views provide just the right environment...read more

Whangarei Falls

After the caves we went “chasing waterfalls” at Whangarei Falls (again, the "Wh" is pronounced as an "F"). Carolyn started humming TLC and I can’t get it out of my head. Thanks, Care. The 25m high falls is definitely worth the forty minute nature walk through Kauri forests and over canopy bridges that lead to its icy pool. We even prepared for our bone chilling swim at the base of the falls with a quick rope swing session at a watering hole along the way, courtesy of a few friendly Kiwis enjoying a swim.

It was a relaxing day, a refreshing swim, and a great chance to get out of the van and explore. I’m glad we didn’t just fuel up and head north - that whole "it's the journey not the destination" thing, blah blah blah. My only regret about Whangarei is that we didn’t see Avatar. I hear that movie is awesome.
Now you won't be able to get it out of your head either...

The Abbey Caves in Whangarei

The Abbey Caves in Whangerei (pronounced "Fun-gah-ray") are ridiculous. There are no guides, no paths, we had the world's worst flashlight, and we had no clue what we were doing. It was “Kiwi Can-Do” at its finest.

Underground rivers and ponds with eels and crayfish cover the “path” – often reaching up to your hips with no way to see the murky bottom. Stalactites and stalagmites litter the path threatening your face and knees with scrapes and whacks, but we pressed on because when you turn off/drop your flashlight in the water, hundreds of sparkling blue glowworms shine overhead like beautiful alien constellations. Car thieves are the only downside, with break-ins reported every day. Signs at the parking lot warn you about it, but what are you gonna do? Miss the caves? Like I said, the Abbey Caves are ridiculous. Throw a club on the steering wheel, grab a glow stick or whatever you have handy, and head on down. It's awesome.

Destination Guide: Whangarei by Shawn Forno Travelers headed up the Twin Discovery Motorway to the northernmost tip of the Northland region of New Zealand will want to pass through Whangarei, the last largish city on the east coast before reaching Cape Reinga in the Far North Region. It’s a great place to stock up...read more How to Theft-Proof Your Car in New Zealand by Shawn Forno New Zealand is best seen from the open road. The spread out nature of the country, limited public transit options, and affordability of self contained camping make exploring from a personal vehicle the best choice for any tourist regardless of length of stay...read more

"Kill the Light" - a comic by Shawn Forno