Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutes3 hours after walking into the rafting company at Waitomo we were on our way to Tongariro National Park and the much awaited Tongariro Crossing. The Crossing is one of the most popular day hikes in New Zealand and with good reason, it is stunning. We weren’t able to do it in 2001 (again because…
Category: Land
No wait at Waitomo
Estimated Reading Time: < 1 minuteIt would have been hard to leave the Coromandel today but there was some weather coming in and as the clouds gathered it made it easier to say our goodbyes. Another stunningly scenic drive, this time to Waitomo, land of the underwater caves and home to black water rafting. We walked into the rafting company…
Cathedrals and donuts
Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutesLast time we were here it was chucking it down with rain and we didn’t even attempt going beyond the car park at Cathedral Cove. Since then we’ve seen photos and articles and felt cheated that we missed out. But today, 15 years later, the skies are clear and Cathedral Cove gave us a second…
Rediscovering the Kiwi slice
Estimated Reading Time: < 1 minuteI was woken at sunrise by my own drool on the pillow, the sound of crashing waves in the distance and birdsong overhead – this is going to be a good day! We drove for an hour to the trail access for New Chum Beach, allegedly one of the best beaches in NZ. Accessible only…
Camping with cicadas
Estimated Reading Time: < 1 minuteIt was a staggeringly beautiful 2 hour drive from the suburbs of Auckland to the Coromandel Peninsula. Blue skies, green hillsides, live-stock out to pasture and a cacophony of cicadas so loud we actually rolled down the windows to check it was insects and not a problem with the car. After only 30 minutes I…
A day in the clouds
Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutesThe Belmar just keeps on delivering. We had a fantastic breakfast, the tastiest eggs I’ve had in years, scrummy bacon, fresh pineapple, homemade granola drizzled with local honey and the best banana cake ever…what a feast to set us up for the day! We were on the first tour of the day at Monteverde Cloud…
Luxury in the clouds
Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutesNo sign of the volcano this morning, we were lucky to see what we did yesterday. We had an adventurous 3 hour drive to Monteverde on mostly unpaved roads. It was bone shaking but not nearly as bad as we’d been warned. Mike had a hotel in mind (The Belmar) so we rocked up on…
Arenal reveals itself
Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutesWe opened the curtains this morning and saw a little more of the volcano…it’s teasing us! We drove to the park and spent a few hours hiking the trails. We saw lava flows, amazingly huge fig trees and our first coati which we were very excited about, little did we know that within 24 hours…
Thermal baths and creatures of the night
Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutesBack to the dirt field and corrugated shed that is Drakes Bay airport. The scenic 45 minute flight back to San Jose was a trip highlight in itself, it felt like quite the adventure flying over the rainforest in a little prop plane enjoying the stunning views below. Back in San Jose, we picked up…
Creatures in Corcodova
Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutesOur 5am early start began with a 90 minute boat ride then 3 hours of nature with our guide Rolando. On arrival at Corcodova I took a photo of my nice clean hiking boots anticipating that they would never look this new again, and I was right. Over the course of 3 hours we saw…