Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutesA much needed day of considerable rest. We departed Taupo fairly early because the town was ramping up for Iron Man this weekend and we wanted to get out before they started closing roads and diverting traffic. On our short drive from Taupo to Rotorua we stopped off for a 2 hour hike to Huka…
Tip Top Tongariro
Estimated Reading Time: 3 minutesThis is IT. Tongariro Crossing day! 12 miles and 3,300 of elevation gain await us. We’ve wanted to do this hike for so long! The alarm went off at 5:30 am. A nutritious breakfast of milk and hot cross buns before jumping on the shuttle bus to the trailhead. The hotel and shuttle was run…
Let’s go to Tongariro!
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…
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…
Captain’s hour
Estimated Reading Time: < 1 minuteBecause of the way the watch schedule works, you relieve or are relieved by the same people on every watch so it’s actually very easy for 5 people to be together on a 40ft yacht for a couple of weeks and only see other crew members in passing, like ships that pass in the night…
And we’re off to the Derby
Estimated Reading Time: < 1 minuteWe’ve been galloping along and making such good progress it was looking like we’d get to Kanehoe earlier than expected. But then Derby showed up on the scene and it looks like he may have the upper hand on our plans. A few days ago Derby was rated as a hurricane, the good news is…
Derby don’t you dare!
Estimated Reading Time: 2 minutesThe sun finally came out today and we were able to do our watches in shorts and tees rather than our foulies. Squalls come through with some regularity and give us a shower but it is not unpleasant. Talking of showers, in order to conserve our precious water on board, we wash down with a…